Harvey Weinstein undergoes emergency heart surgery, representatives say | Crime News

The movie mogul's hospitalization came while he awaited a new trial following the overturning of sex crimes convictions in New York.

Imprisoned Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein had to undergo emergency heart surgery after being admitted to hospital from a New York prison.

Weinstein, 72, was transferred from Rikers Island prison to New York's Bellevue Hospital to undergo a procedure to remove fluid from his heart and lungs, his representatives said Monday.

“We can confirm that Mr. Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today,” his prison counsel Craig Rothfeld and publicist Juda Engelmayer said in a statement.

Weinstein's representatives had previously stated that the film mogul suffers from a number of health problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis and fluid retention in the heart and lungs.

In July, his representatives said he was hospitalized with COVID and pneumonia in both lungs.

Weinstein's hospitalization came after a New York appeals court in April overturned his 2020 rape and sexual assault convictions on the grounds that he had not received a fair trial.

The selection of the jury for a new trial against the disgraced film producer is provisionally scheduled for November.

Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2022 in another sex crimes case in Los Angeles.

His lawyers are seeking a retrial of the California case after his convictions in New York were overturned.

In 2017, the New York Times and the New Yorker published detailed allegations against Weinstein dating back decades, launching the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse.

Weinstein, who has been accused of misconduct by more than 80 women, denies engaging in any non-consensual sexual activity.