Harvey Weinstein Hit With New Sexual Battery Charge In West Coast Case

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Harvey Weinstein beat the coronavirus, but he's got more problems ahead in Los Angeles ... including a new sexual battery charge.

The L.A. County District's Office has hit Weinstein with a new count stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred at a Beverly Hills hotel back in May of 2010.

Law enforcement sources say the alleged victim was interviewed by detectives about the incident in October 2019, but provided detectives with information in March 2020 confirming the incident didn't fall outside the 10-year-statute of limitation.

Weinstein was charged back in January with one felony count each of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint. The new sexual assault charge will be added to those charges ... and Weinstein faces up to 29 years overall in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors have started the process of temporarily transferring Weinstein -- who is currently serving a 23-year sentence in New York -- to Los Angeles to answer to the charges.

Prosecutors in L.A. also announced today that two cases involving Weinstein were dropped because the victims did not want to testify against the defendant in this case.

Weinstein tested positive for coronavirus last month but has since made a full recovery.

'Human Centipede' Star Dieter Laser Dead at 78

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Dieter Laser -- the German actor best known for playing the evil Dr. Heiter in "The Human Centipede" -- has died.

Laser's death was revealed by his wife, Inge, who says he actually passed in Berlin back on February 29. His cause of death is unknown at this time.

The German star has more than 60 acting credits to his name -- including appearing in the Glenn Close film, "Meeting Venus," in 1991 -- but didn't achieve international fame until starring in the controversial horror film, 'Centipede,' in 2009. He also appeared in 'The Human Centipede III' in 2015.

Tom Six, director of the cult horror series, says of Dieter ... "He was a force of nature, a unique human being and an iconic actor. I’m so damn proud we created pop culture together."

Dieter was an acclaimed film and theater actor in Germany for years, though. He won a German Film Award in 1975 for his leading role in "John Gluckstadt." Almost 35 years later ... he won a Scream Award for Best Villain for playing the deranged 'Human Centipede' surgeon.

Laser's other notable credits over the years include the sci-fi TV series, "Lexx," and the 2003 thriller, "Baltic Storm."

Dieter was 78.

RIP

Christina Grimmie Her Voice Lives on in BF's New Single

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The boyfriend of former 'Voice' star Christina Grimmie -- who was shot and killed nearly 4 years ago -- is keeping her memory alive with a new song featuring her.

Stephen Rezza just dropped "Hard Mode" ... and we're told he got her family's okay to sample Christina for the track. Best of all for Christina's fans -- this is just the first of many new songs with her angelic voice.

Rezza's dropping a full album of his orchestral pop later this year, which is titled, "Songs for Christina." That's appropriate because every single track on it will feature either her vocals, her old music, or even voicemails from her.

It's a touching tribute to Christina. As we reported, back in June 2016, the singer -- who'd already appeared on "The Voice" -- was doing a meet and greet with fans in Orlando when a deranged man walked up and opened fire. He then shot and killed himself. Christina was only 22.

After her death, Stephen helped produced her posthumous album "All Is Vanity," which dropped in 2017. He then started working on "Songs for Christina" ... but that stopped when he suffered a seizure in 2019. Turns out he had an avocado-sized brain tumor. Surgeons successfully removed 95% of the mass.

Once he recovered, we're told Stephen had a new perspective and was determined to finish the album.

Stephen tells TMZ, "I almost never put these songs out. They're so personal I didn't think the world wanted to hear them. Next thing I knew I was on an operating table wide awake, skull open while my brain's being worked on. I almost lost everything. If I had died or lost the ability to make music, the only thing I would've truly regretted would've been never finishing this album for her."

BTW, Stephen's "Hard Mode" is now available on streaming services. It's about persevering when God flips the switch, and it's the only song on the album written after his operation.

Helluva way to persevere.

#RIPChristina