Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul and convicted sex offender, has been hospitalised after a troubling blood test result, his lawyer revealed on Monday.
Weinstein, 72, was transported from Rikers Island prison in New York to a hospital for emergent treatment, according to his attorney Imran Ansari. “He will remain at the hospital until his condition stabilizes,” Ansari added, describing the situation as requiring immediate medical attention.
Reports from October indicated that Weinstein was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. His spokesman, Juda Engelmayer, confirmed the severity of his health issues, noting that Weinstein suffers from a number of illnesses, including leukaemia, and has been denied adequate medical care.
“This mistreatment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment,” Engelmayer said, citing the deplorable and inhumane conditions at Rikers Island.
This is not Weinstein’s first health scare. He underwent emergency heart surgery in September and has appeared visibly weakened during recent court appearances, including one in October where he arrived in a wheelchair.
Weinstein’s health complications come as he faces multiple legal battles. His retrial in New York, initially set for November, has been delayed to 2025. This follows an appeals court decision to overturn his 2020 conviction for rape and sexual assault. Despite the reversal, Harvey Weinstein is currently serving a separate 16-year sentence in Los Angeles for similar charges.
Weinstein’s fall from grace began in 2017 when more than 80 women, including prominent actors Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ashley Judd, accused him of sexual misconduct. The allegations sparked the #MeToo movement, which shed light on systemic sexual abuse in various industries.
Harvey Weinstein, who has always maintained that all sexual encounters were consensual, remains a central figure in discussions around accountability and justice for survivors of sexual violence.
