Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital from his jail cell on Sunday, his attorneys confirmed.
Weinstein, 72, underwent emergency surgery at the Manhattan hospital, his attorney Arthur Aidala told the Daily Beast in an email. His surgery took place on Monday and was “regarding heart issues,” Aidala confirmed.
Craig Rothfeld, Weinstein’s jail consultant, told the Daily Beast in a separate statement that his client was rushed to the hospital for “several medical conditions.”
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His procedure on Monday was to remove “remove fluid on his heart and lungs,” Rothfeld said, and he is currently in recovery. The attorney said Weinstein “suffers a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment.”
Weinstein, who is being held at Rikers Island during his retrial on charges of rape, reportedly began complaining about feeling sick over the weekend, his lawyers earlier told The New York Times.
Sources close to Weinstein later told Deadline the former co-founder of Miramax was in “critical condition” and in “very rough shape.”
Weinstein, an Oscar-winning producer responsible for some of the most memorable blockbusters of the 90s, was one of the most powerful Hollywood executives taken down during the #MeToo movement. Since the first reports were published in the Times, more than 80 women have accused the former industry leader of sexual misconduct.
Weinstein was originally indicted for the rape in 2018. He was found guilty in February 2020, but his conviction was overturned by the New York Court of Appeals in April after a 4-3 decision. The court ordered a retrial, and he has been held on Rikers Island for since then.
Weinstein was previously serving a 23-year jail sentence at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
Weinstein was also convicted of rape and other sex crime related charges in 2022 in a separate criminal case in California. He was sentenced to another 16 years in prison for the California charges. Throughout both trials, Weinstein appeared in court using a wheelchair.
He was briefly taken to a hospital prison unit earlier this year after complaining about chest pain. During his brief stay at the hospital unit, he was given a private bathroom, telephone, and television—which he used to watch CNN and other programs all day, The City reported. Weinstein’s representatives told the Daily Beast at the time his treatment was standard and far from “cushy.”
Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman on the red carpet for the screening of "The Brutalist" at the Venice Film Festival.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesWeinstein’s health issues come just days after his ex-wife, British actress and designer Georgina Chapman, was seen with her new beau Adrien Brody at the Venice Film Festival. Chapman attended a screening for Brody’s upcoming film “The Brutalist” last week, which received a 13-minute standing ovation at the Italian festival, according to Hollywood trade publications.
Chapman reportedly left Weinstein in 2017, shortly after the reports about his years of sexual misconduct were published. Chapman and Brody began dating in 2019, according to The Daily Mail.
