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Shortly After Rape Conviction, Harvey Weinstein Hospitalized For Heart Palpitations, Attorney Says
Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was on his way to Rikers Island when he began experiencing chest pains, according to his lawyer.
Just hours after being convicted of rape in New York City, disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein was taken to a local hospital for heart-related issues, his attorney said.
Weinstein, 67, was convicted Monday of committing a criminal sex act against a production assistant in 2006 and third-degree rape of a second woman, according to the Associated Press. The jury’s decision, which came after five days of deliberation, is the culmination of a years-long call for justice that helped to spark the #MeToo movement.
Following his conviction, Weinstein was set to be transported to Riker’s Island, but the ambulance he was riding in was instead rerouted to Bellevue Hospital in New York due to Weinstein experiencing chest pains, heart palpitations, and high blood pressure, his attorney Donna Rotunno said, according to CNN.
The former Hollywood mogul, who was admitted to the hospital’s prison ward on Monday evening, currently “is okay,” Rotunno said.
As of early Tuesday morning, Weinstein — who was strapped to a stretcher while still wearing his suit, according to the Associated Press — remained a patient at Bellevue, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
During Monday’s court appearance, Weinstein’s legal team spoke out against their client being sent directly to Riker’s Island, citing his alleged poor health. This prompted the judge to agree to request that Weinstein be placed in the prison’s infirmary, Fox News reported.
“He will have medical care. We made a request,” Rotunno said during an interview Monday with Fox News. “We have already heard tonight that’s being honored. He was being moved to an infirmary of Rikers, but now we just heard before coming on that he was experiencing some high blood pressure and some heart palpitations.”
Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 90 women, was acquitted Monday of predatory sexual assault, according to the Associated Press. He has maintained his innocence and has claimed that the sexual contact he had with his accusers was consensual.
His lawyers have said that he plans to appeal his conviction.
“Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man,” Rotunno said Monday. “He knows that we will continue to fight for him, and we know that this is not over.”
Rotunno also said that Weinstein was “shocked” by the verdict because “he knows he didn’t rape anyone,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Weinstein is scheduled to return to court on March 11, where he faces a maximum sentence of 29 years behind bars.
