Harvey Weinstein has been diagnosed with leukemia. His spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, confirmed the update in a statement that also noted the disgraced movie mogul was "suffering from a number of illnesses" today, per The Hollywood Reporter. There's been speculation about the exact nature of Weinstein's condition since October, when two anonymous sources told the press he had chronic myeloid leukemia, a rare form of bone marrow cancer.
The news likely came out today because Weinstein has been taken from Rikers Island back to Bellevue Hospital for "emergent treatment," his attorney, Imran H. Ansari, confirmed. "Harvey Weinstein, who has been suffering from a lack of adequate medical care and enduring deplorable and inhumane conditions on Rikers Island, has been transported to Bellevue Hospital for emergent treatment due to an alarming blood test result that requires immediate medical attention," Ansari said. "It is expected that he will remain there until his condition stabilizes. His deprivation of care is not only medical malpractice, but a violation of his constitutional rights."
Barring a previous hospital visit where he underwent emergency heart surgery earlier this spring, Weinstein has been held at New York's Rikers Island prison while he awaits trial on three alleged sex crimes. The additional charges came in September, after new accusers came forward against him. He also faces a retrial on charges related to his 2020 rape conviction, which was recently overturned.
"Mr. Weinstein… has been deprived the medical attention that someone in his medical state deserves, prisoner or not," Engelmayer said in a statement. "In many ways, this mistreatment constitutes cruel and unusual punishment."
