Harvey Weinstein was relocated from Rikers Island to Bellevue Hospital Sunday night before having emergency open heart surgery Monday morning, according to media reports.
Weinstein – who was serving time at Rikers Island – was taken to Bellevue Hospital after experiencing chest pains late Sunday. Weinstein was expected to appear in court this week as prosecutors pursue new indictment on the former producer for sex crime charges.
His representatives Craig Rothfeld and Juda Engelmayer confirmed the report across multiple media outlets.
“We can confirm that Mr. Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today, however, cannot comment any further than that,” his team said in a statement. “As we have extensively stated before, Mr. Weinstein suffers a plethora of significant health issues that need ongoing treatment. We are grateful to the executive team at the New York City Department of Correction and Rikers Island for acting swiftly in taking him to Bellevue Hospital.”
The procedure Weinstein underwent Monday morning alleviated a significant amount of fluid from his heart and lungs, Rothfeld told NBC News. He’s currently awaiting further testing.
Weinstein was previously hospitalized over the summer regarding other health issues, as well as catching COVID and double pneumonia. In July, he was admitted to Bellevue “so that he can be treated for the myriad of health conditions that he is still afflicted with on a daily basis, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, fluid on his heart and lungs and various other conditions,” Rothfeld said at the time.
The disgraced media mogul was found guilty of rape charges back in February 2020. The New York Court of Appeals threw out that conviction in April 2024 after ruling Weinstein didn’t get a fair trial after the judge “erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts,” allowing information to be presented that prejudiced the jury because the accusations weren’t part of the charges against him.
ABC News first reported the news.
