NEW YORK — Harvey Weinstein underwent heart surgery on Monday after experiencing health issues and was transferred from a New York City jail to a local hospital, according to a legal representative for the former film producer.
Weinstein, whose 2020 rape conviction was overturned earlier this year, is currently in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Bellevue Hospital and is awaiting further test results and medical details, stated his representative, Craig Rothfeld.
At 72 years old, Weinstein was moved from Rikers Island to the hospital after complaining of feeling unwell and experiencing significant weight gain due to medication, according to Rothfeld.
He underwent the procedure on Monday morning to relieve a significant amount of fluid from his lungs and heart, Rothfeld reported.
In July, Weinstein was hospitalized due to “a myriad of health problems” and tested positive for COVID-19 and double pneumonia, his representative mentioned.
At that time, Weinstein was taken to the hospital for treatment of the “conditions he still suffers from daily, including diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, liquid in the heart and lungs, and several other issues,” his representative stated earlier this summer.
Weinstein has been convicted in New York and Los Angeles for sexual offenses, with a 16-year prison sentence in the Los Angeles case. He received a 23-year sentence in New York, but that conviction was overturned in April after a state appeals court determined that the judge had erred in allowing women to testify about accusations that were not part of the case.
He has consistently claimed that all sexual encounters were consensual.
Dozens of women, more than 80, have accused the Oscar-winning producer of sexual assault or harassment.
A new trial in Manhattan is tentatively scheduled for November.