Disgraced Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is in intensive care in hospital recovering from emergency heart surgery, his lawyer says.
The 72-year-old was taken from Rikers Island prison, where he is serving a sentence for rape, to Bellevue Hospital in New York on Monday.
Weinstein underwent pericardiocentesis surgery – a procedure to remove fluid from around the heart and lungs – but he is “not in critical condition”, according to his representative, Craig Rothfeld.
He said Weinstein is recovering in the intensive care unit and “is in pain from the procedure and still dealing with several other serious health issues which need to be addressed”.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said they requested that prison officials immediately move him to Bellevue “based on his complaints to us regarding chest pains”.
The former film producer is due in court on 12 September for a retrial hearing after his 2020 rape conviction in New York was thrown out in April.
Weinstein has remained in jail because he was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles in 2022, for which he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Weinstein’s health a ‘train wreck’
Weinstein was previously taken to hospital in July after testing positive for COVID-19 and contracting pneumonia in both of his lungs.
He had earlier had a 10-day stay at Bellevue Hospital, when his lawyer Arthur Aidala said he had “a lot of problems” and was “somewhat of a train wreck health-wise”.
Weinstein has been in prison since his 2020 conviction led to him being handed a 23-year prison sentence. The landmark case kickstarted the global #MeToo movement.
However, judges ruled the original hearing had been prejudiced by “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that were not part of the case, violating Weinstein’s right to a fair trial.
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UK charges dropped
Weinstein has denied raping or sexually assaulting anyone and is also appealing against his Los Angeles conviction.
Last week, prosecutors disclosed that they have begun taking steps to potentially charge him with up to three additional sex assaults.
They said they have started presenting evidence to a grand jury of up to three previously uncharged allegations against Weinstein – two sexual assaults in the mid-2000s and another sexual assault in 2016.
Meanwhile, British prosecutors said last week they were dropping two charges of indecent assault that were brought against Weinstein in 2022 because there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”.
Source : Sky News
