Harvey Weinstein ‘Rushed’ To New York Hospital From Rikers Island For Emergency Heart Surgery: Report

Former film producer Harvey Weinstein, who is being held at Rikers Island prison amid the ongoing trial for sex crime, was reportedly rushed to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, New York for an emergency heart surgery.

The 72-year-old reportedly experienced chest pain Sunday and was taken to the hospital for an emergency heart surgery, ABC News reported citing sources.

BBC reported citing Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, that Weinstein was taken to the hospital on Sunday evening, following an emergency.

“He wasn’t feeling well yesterday. He let us know, and we let Rikers and Bellevue know and convinced them to rush him to Bellevue yesterday. He was operated on today,” Aidala, said.

Aidala did not provide further details.

Last month, following a request from California to extradite him from New York, where he faces charges of rape and sexual assault, prosecutors decided that he will remain locked up at Rikers Island prison till the New York trial is complete After that, he will return to California to serve his pending 16-year sentence.

Weinstein’s appearance before the grand jury, slated for this month, follows attempts by prosecutors to freshly indict him on sex crime charges. They have been presenting evidence before a grand jury in relation to the matter.

Weinstein, however, has denied the charges and has claimed that the sexual encounters for which he is being tried were consensual.

Weinstein was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 while serving a 23-year sentence in New York. His 2020 Manhattan conviction was overturned this spring by the state’s highest court, which found that the trial judge had improperly allowed testimony based on unrelated allegations. A retrial in Manhattan is tentatively set for November.