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03rd Dec 2024

Harvey Weinstein rushed to hospital following ‘alarming blood test’

Charlie Herbert

The 72-year-old needed ‘immediate medical attention’

Harvey Weinstein has been rushed to hospital following an “alarming blood test result”, his lawyers have said.

The disgraced former film producer was taken from the Rikers Island jail complex to Bellevue Hospital in New York City to receive “immediate medical attention.”

His lawyers said: “Harvey Weinstein, who has been suffering from a lack of adequate medical care and enduring deplorable and inhumane conditions on Rikers Island, has been transported to Bellevue Hospital for emergent treatment due to an alarming blood test result that requires immediate medical attention.

“It is expected that he will remain there until his condition stabilises.”

They added: “His deprivation of care is not only medical malpractice, but a violation of his constitutional rights.”

Weinstein is currently awaiting a retrial over his his 2020 rape and sexual assault conviction, which was overturned by New York’s highest court in April.

The case is scheduled to be retried next year. The 72-year-old denies any wrongdoing.

Weinstein is still serving a 16-year prison sentence for the rape of an actress in Los Angeles in 2013. This sentence, handed out in Los Angeles in 2022, still stands, but his lawyers have launched an appeal against the verdict.

In September, Weinstein was rushed to hospital for emergency heart surgery.

Last month, his lawyers filed a legal claim against New York City alleging he is receiving substandard medical treatment in unhygienic conditions at the jail. They claim the facility has failed to manage his multiple health conditions, which include a rare type of bone marrow cancer and diabetes.

They are seeking $5m (£3.9m) in damages.

Weinstein still faces two other criminal counts, to which he also pleaded not guilty, including another criminal sexual act charge and a rape charge.

He also pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of sexual assault in September.