Harvey Weinstein in intensive care after emergency heart surgery
The jailed movie mogul was said to be a "train wreck" health wise earlier this year and has used a wheelchair at recent court hearings. He was in custody in New York while awaiting a retrial in Manhattan that is tentatively scheduled to begin on 12 November.
Disgraced director Harvey Weinstein is in intensive care recovering from emergency heart surgery, his lawyer has confirmed.
Weinstein, 72, underwent an emergency medical procedure at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on Monday to remove fluid from his heart and lungs after he complained of chest pains over the weekend.
His publicist Juda Engelmayer and prison consultant Craig Rothfeld confirmed the news, with Rothfeld identifying the procedure as pericardiocentesis surgery. He added Weinstein had not been feeling well for several weeks and was worsening by the day.
The city Department of Correction's public inmate-lookup website was updated Monday to show that Weinstein was moved to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward from the West Facility at Rikers Island, which is used to isolate inmates with contagious diseases such as tuberculosis.
The jailed movie mogul was said to be a "train wreck" health wise earlier this year and has used a wheelchair at recent court hearings.
“As we have extensively stated before, Mr. Weinstein suffers from a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment,” Engelmayer and Rothfeld said Monday.
Weinstein has been in and out of Bellevue Hospital since returning to Rikers Island from state prison in April after an appeals court overturned his 2020 rape and sexual assault convictions and ordered a new trial.
In July, he was hospitalized with COVID-19 and pneumonia, his representatives said.
Weinstein was found guilty on 24 February 2020 of first-degree and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
After his conviction, Weinstein left court in an ambulance, complaining of chest pains and high blood pressure. He later had a stent inserted to unblock an artery.
In April, the New York Court of Appeals overturned his 2020 conviction for rape, deeming that the judge at the trial gave improper rulings.
Last week, prosecutors disclosed that they’ve begun taking steps to potentially charge him with up to three additional sex assaults. They said they’ve 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.
A vote on a potential new indictment was expected soon.
Weinstein has denied that he raped or sexually assaulted anyone. He remains in custody in New York while awaiting a retrial in Manhattan that is tentatively scheduled to begin on 12 November. He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on 12 September.
After the retrial, Weinstein is due to start serving a 16-year sentence in California for a separate rape conviction in Los Angeles, authorities said. Weinstein was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022.
