Harvey Weinstein rushed from jail to hospital for heart surgery

The film producer Harvey Weinstein was rushed from a New York jail to a hospital on Monday to undergo emergency heart surgery, ABC News reported.

His lawyer Arthur Aidala has confirmed in statements to the BBC that the producer has been transferred this Monday morning from the Riskers Island prison to the hospital BellevueWeinstein had been experiencing chest pains for several days and also suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. In 2020, he already had a blocked artery that required hospitalization.

This is not the first time that Weinstein has suffered health problems in recent years. In July he already suffered Covid-19which caused him to develop pneumonia.

The 72-year-old film producer was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and received a sentence of 23 years in prisonHe appealed the conviction, however, and it was overturned in April by a judge who ruled he had not received a fair trial. He is scheduled to be tried again in late 2024. Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in another rape trial, a sentence he is appealing.

His conviction in New York boosted the movement #MeToowhich sought to highlight sexual abuse by powerful men. Since 1970, more than 100 people have accused Weinstein of rape and misconduct, although he has always maintained his innocence. He has even claimed to have been the victim of a “setup.”

Outside the courts, his films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and 81 statuettes.