Harvey Weinstein hospitalized days after his rape conviction was overturned as lawyer reveals health is a ‘train wreck’
HARVEY Weinstein has been hospitalized following his overturned conviction and a transfer to New York City jail.
Weinstein, 72, returned to Rikers Island on Friday after a higher court overturned his 2020 rape conviction.
However, he didn’t last long, as he began having medical problems.
His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, announced on Saturday that the mogul was transferred to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after his Friday arrival in New York City.
“They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically,” Aidala said, according to WLBT.
“He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise.”
After speaking with his client on Friday afternoon, Aidala confirmed that Weinstein’s ailments are all physical and not mental.
Mentally, he is “sharp as a tack. Feet are firmly planted on the ground,” said Aidala.
NO FOOD OR WATER
He also claimed Weinstein was not being treated well by prison officials during the transition.
“They refused to give him even a sip of water, no food, no bathroom break,” Aidala said. “He’s a 72-year-old sickly man.”
Weinstein has reportedly been dealing with multiple health issues, including cardiac and eye problems, diabetes, and sleep apnea.
On Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the 72-year-old’s conviction in a 4-3 verdict claiming it was an unfair trial due to a mistake by the judge who oversaw the case more than four years ago.
He could now face a retrial.
During the movie mogul’s trial, prosecutors called on multiple female witnesses who alleged Weinstein assaulted them but weren’t the direct subject of the allegations he was on trial for.
‘KEEP STANDING UP FOR THE TRUTH’
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represented Weinstein’s accuser, Mimi Haley, during the 2020 trial, has ripped the Court of Appeal’s decision calling it a “significant step backward for the Me Too movement.”
She said Haley would consider retaking the stand in another trial against the 72-year-old film producer.
“Even though the process of testifying was grueling and retraumatizing for Mimi, she reaffirmed to me today that she would consider testifying again if District Attorney Alvin Bragg decided to proceed with a new trial of Harvey Weinstein,” Allred said in a statement to The U.S. Sun.
“I commend Mimi on her courage and willingness to keep standing up for the truth.”
How Weinstein sparked the #MeToo movement
In October 2017, The New York Times published a bombshell article where numerous actresses alleged abuse at the hands of Harvey Weinstein.
Soon after, the actress Alyssa Milano asked women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed to share the words “Me Too” on social media.
The request quickly became a movement – with actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lawrence, and Uma Thurman all sharing their harrowing stories.
It was later revealed that “Me Too” was first used by activity Tarana Burke in 2006 to describe her sexual assault.
The media firestorm led to many media executives losing their positions, alongside backlash over whether the accusations were being properly investigated.
Weinstein remained at the center of it all and was one of the few who was hit with criminal charges.
A top executive who produced films like Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, and The Lord of the Rings, activist felt he was the perfect representation of how power and influence could be used for evil.
Weinstein was once a powerful studio boss behind dozens of blockbuster films, including Pulp Fiction, Scream, and Good Will Hunting.
In 2017, rumors of sexual misconduct began circulating after articles were published about Weinstein in The New York Times and The New Yorker.
The Hollywood film producer was subsequently accused of sexual assault and rape by more than 80 women.
Several celebrities, including Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ashley Judd, accused Weinstein of sexual harassment, while others claimed he raped them.
He was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being convicted of forcing oral sex on a production assistant, Mimi Haley, in 2006 and third-degree rape of a hairstylist, Jessica Mann, in 2013.
During his downfall, Weinstein received a lifetime ban from the Producers Guild of America and was kicked out of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
He was also removed as head of The Weinstein Company, which subsequently filed for bankruptcy.
His wife, Georgia Chapman, filed for divorce, and women around the globe started sharing the hashtag “#metoo” to come forward with their own experiences of sexual violence.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Bellevue Hospital for comment.
Weinstein is supposed to return to court on May 1.
