Harvey Weinstein taken to hospital for emergency heart surgery

Harvey Weinstein has been taken to hospital for emergency heart surgery after experiencing chest pains.

The disgraced movie producer, who was being held in Rikers Island prison, has been reportedly suffering a host of health problems.

“Mr Weinstein was rushed to Bellevue Hospital last night due to several medical conditions,” Weinstein representatives Craig Rothfeld and Juda Engelmayer said in a statement to ABC News.

“We can confirm that Mr Weinstein had a procedure and surgery on his heart today, however, we cannot comment any further than that.”

In February 2020, the producer behind movies such as Shakespeare in Love and Pulp Fiction, was found guilty of rape after a succession of women made allegations against him.

Two months later, the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction, finding Weinstein did not get a fair trial because a judge improperly allowed testimony by accusers he was not formally charged with assaulting.

He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023 in a separate rape trial in California. He is appealing against the verdict.

Producer due to face New York court

Weinstein had been due in court this week where prosecutors had been presenting evidence to a New York grand jury as they work to secure a new indictment against him on sex crimes charges.

He has denied having any non-consensual sexual encounters with anyone. In December 2022 a court in Los Angeles found him guilty of four of seven charges including rape and sexual assault.

While Weinstein is also appealing against his conviction in Los Angeles, legal observers believe he might find that conviction tougher to overturn because of the different ways New York and California handle sex crimes.

In California, the law permits prosecutors to introduce of allegations of sexual offences that are not listed in the indictment — specifically in sex crime cases, in accordance with California Evidence Code section 1108.

As a result, lawyers can show evidence of a defendant’s past sexual misconduct, calling in witnesses whose accusations are not part of the charges against the defendant.

In New York, no such law exists. Indeed, the state specifically bars the admission of such evidence, which was why the appeals court ruled 4-3 he had not received a fair trial because prosecutors did use cite alleged incidents not included in the specific charge.

Reports suggest Weinstein has long struggled with serious health problems, and has been admitted to hospital multiple times.

Weinstein suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, fluid on his heart and lungs, and had recently contracted Covid and double pneumonia, according to a statement by Weinstein representatives to ABC News.

In July, he was treated for Covid-19 and double pneumonia. In 2020, he was admitted to hospital with chest pains. He also was taken to Bellevue hospital that same year to open a blocked artery, according to CBS News.