Harvey Weinstein ‘rushed to hospital for emergency heart surgery’ days before Hollywood monster due in court

HARVEY Weinstein is in intensive care after undergoing emergency heart surgery, his lawyer has revealed.

The disgraced former film producer and convicted sex offender was rushed from the Rikers Island jail facility to Bellevue Hospital in New York City on Monday.

AFP

Reuters

He had been experiencing chest pains and had contacted his lawyer Craig Rothfeld several times over the weekend to complain about his health , Arther Aidala, one of Weinstein’s lawyers said.

Rothfeld and Aidala emailed officials at Rikers and Bellevue that Weinstein was “going to die on your watch if you don’t do something,” reported The New York Times .

“Mr Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital last night due to several medical conditions,” Rothfeld said after the Hollywood mogul was hospitalized.

“We can confirm that Mr Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today.

“As we have extensively stated before, Mr Weinstein suffers a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment.”

Weinstein had been complaining of a cough and weight gain and the surgery helped to “alleviate the massive amount of fluid on his lungs and heart,” he further revealed.

“He’s grateful to be alive” after “worsening by the day.”

However, sources close to the situation revealed that he is in “very rough shape” and a “critical condition” following the procedure, according to Deadline .

The shamed movie mogul’s attorneys have long voiced concerns about Weinstein’s declining health as he remains in jail awaiting retrial.

Weinstein has been pictured being wheeled into court since as early as 2020 when he was first tried on sex crime charges in New York City.

After his conviction in February 2020, the producer left court in an ambulance due to chest pains and was later fitted with a stent to fix a blocked artery.

Nine months later while in prison, he was placed in a 72-hour isolation after contracting Covid-19.

In 2021, as he faced trial in Los Angeles, Weinstein’s public defender argued to the judge that the former director was “almost technically blind” and suffered cardiac and back problems and diabetes .

Then, in July, Weinstein was once again hospitalized with another bout of Covid and pneumonia.

Harvey Weinstein Trial Timeline

• October 2017 : The New York Times reports the film mogul, whose Miramax film company won its first Oscar in 1997 for The English Patient, has reached legal settlements with eight women who accused him of sexual harassment spanning over 30 years. He is fired from his company, his wife leaves him, and the #Metoo movement is born.
• May 2018 : Weinstein was arrested on charges of rape and a criminal sex act involving alleged assaults of two women.
• June 2018 : He pleads not guilty to both charges and a third charge. One of them is eventually dropped.
• December 2019 : Weinstein agrees to a $25 million settlement with a number of women who accused him of wrongdoing.
• January 2020 : The Los Angeles County District Attorney announces a criminal indictment against Weinstein.
• That same month, Weinstein’s New York trial began.
• February 2020 : After five days of deliberation, a jury in New York convicted Weinstein of rape in the third degree and sexual assault in the first degree.
• March 2020 : Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years and transferred to maximum security prison.
• October 2022 : Weinstein’s Los Angeles trial begins.
• December 2022 : A jury convicts Weinstein of raping a model in 2013.
• February 2023 : Weinstein is sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison.
• April 2024 : His New York conviction is overturned by a New York Appeals Court, and a new trial is ordered.
• July 2024 : A judge sets Weinstein’s retrial for November 12.

Correction officers transferred Weinstein from Rikers Island to Bellevue Hospital, where he was being treated for other conditions, including diabetes , high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, and fluid in his heart and lungs, according to his publicist.

RETRIAL

However, the most recent health emergency comes as Weinstein is set to appear in court on Thursday for a retiral hearing.

The Oscar winner, whose rape conviction in New York was overturned by an appeals court in April , will be retried on sex crimes on November 12.

The shocking move came after judges ruled that his hearing had been prejudiced after prosecutors called on multiple women who alleged assault but were not the direct subject of the allegations for which he was on trial.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the country blasted the move saying that “justice is undone.”

Despite the bombshell decision, Weinstein, who has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison , remained behind bars.

He still has to serve a 16-year sentence handed to him by a Los Angeles court for the rape of a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel .

Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years after being found guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation, and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving a woman known only as Jane Doe One.

He has continually denied raping or sexually assaulting anyone.

How Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement

In October 2017, The New York Times published a bombshell article where numerous actresses alleged abuse at the hands of Harvey Weinstein.

Soon after, the actress Alyssa Milano asked women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed to share the words “Me Too” on social media.

The request quickly became a movement – with actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence, and Uma Thurman all sharing their harrowing stories.

It was later revealed that “Me Too” was first used by activity Tarana Burke in 2006 to describe her sexual assault.

The media firestorm led to many media executives losing their positions, alongside backlash over whether the accusations were being properly investigated.

Weinstein remained at the center of it all and was one of the few who was hit with criminal charges.

A top executive who produced films like Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, and The Lord of the Rings, activist felt he was the perfect representation of how power and influence could be used for evil.

The attack on the unidentified woman described only as an actress, occurred at a Los Angeles hotel in 2013, prosecutors said.

Weinstein’s legal team appealed his Los Angeles conviction weeks after his New York conviction was overturned.

Meanwhile, his attorneys have said their client is eager for a retrial.

“[Weinstein] is anxious to go to trial and prove his innocence,” one of his attorneys told the Associated Press after a July court hearing.

Prosecutors have said they’re looking at new sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein in his retrial.

A New York grand jury convened on September 4 to consider whether to bring new charges against Weinstein , according to NBC News .

Prosecutors are exploring charging Weinstein with up to three additional sexual assaults with evidence being shown to the grand jury from an alleged incident in 2016 and two others in the mid-2000s.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in the UK have dropped two charges of indecent assault from 2022 as the chances of conviction are low.

Over the years, more than 80 women have accused the producer of sexual assault and harassment.

He has continually denied any wrongdoing.