Harvey Weinstein rushed to hospital days after New York court quashed his conviction

Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced former Hollywood producer whose downfall became the catalyst to the #MeToo movement was hospitalised in New York City. The hospitalisation of the convicted sex offender came days after a New York court of appeals overturned his 2020 rape conviction.

Weinstein’s lawyers said that he is being taken to the hospital to undergo a series of tests.

In the court ruling that came earlier this week, the court believed that the judge who oversaw the watershed case during the peak of the #MeToo era prejudiced Weinstein with “egregious” improper rulings. The court also condemned the 2020 presiding judge for allowing women whose accusations were not even part of the case to testify against him.

Weinstein is going through ‘physical issues’

“They examined him and sent him to Bellevue [hospital]. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health-wise,” Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala said in a statement on Saturday, the Associated Press reported.

Aidala noted that he spoke to Weinstein on Friday afternoon while he was being transported from the upstate jail Mohawk correctional facility to New York City’s Department of Correction following the appeals court’s ruling.

The lawyer made it clear that Weinstein’s issues are physical and the movie mogul is mentally “sharp as a tack” with “feet [that] are firmly planted on the ground”. He claimed that Weinstein was treated “poorly” in jail.

The lawyer insisted that there have been instances where the jail staff allegedly refused to offer a “sip of water” food and bathroom breaks to Weinstein.

“He was not treated well … He’s a 72-year-old sickly man,” Aidala told the Associated Press. In the past, Weinstein’s defence team has repeatedly argued that he is suffering from several health issues. These issues include cardiac issues, diabetes, sleep apnea, eye problems, etc.

In 2021, Weinstein’s lawyer claimed that the erstwhile hot-shot movie producer had lost four teeth in prison.

What happens next?

Aidala mentioned that the Bellevue doctors are planning to run a lot of tests on Weinstein before he returns to the Rikers Island jail complex. The lawyer mentioned that he is scheduled to meet Weinstein on Monday.

He also stated that he is planning to tell the judge that when Weinstein goes to court on Wednesday in Manhattan, the retrial should be conducted only after Labour Day.

Anger among Weinstein’s victims

Several women who have accused Weinstein of sex crimes or harassment, expressed rage over the New York court’s decision.

“It’s a terrible reminder that victims of sexual assault just don’t get justice,” said Katherine Kendall, an actress who accused Weinstein of luring her to what she believed would be a work discussion in 1993. “I’m completely let down by the justice system right now,” she added.

Meanwhile, Ashley Judd, the first actress to come forward with the allegations stated that the move is “unfair to survivors”. “We still live in our truth,” she said. “And we know what happened.”

Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, a Filipino Italian model, had accused Weinstein of grabbing her breasts back in 2015 during a business meeting at his office in Manhattan. However, the Manhattan district attorney’s office decided not to charge him over the matter.

After the recent judgement, Gutierrez recalled what happened to her and emphasised how important that case would have been in today’s time. “If the D.A. had taken my case seriously in 2015, we wouldn’t be here,” she averred.

With inputs from agencies.