Imprisoned former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is reportedly being treated for chronic myeloid leukemia at Rikers Island.
Weinstein has faced multiple sexual misconduct charges over the past seven years.
After several women including celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and mistreatment, their public outcry sparked the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein, 72, is being held as he awaits a retrial on two charges, following the overturning of his 2020 conviction. At that time, he had been found guilty of sexual assault and rape, and had been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Last month Weinstein plead not guilty to a new sex crime charge related to an alleged incident in the spring of 2006 in a Los Angeles hotel. He was also convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022, which his lawyers have appealed.
Earlier this month, New York prosecutors requested that two sex crime cases be consolidated into one trial, which Weinstein’s team opposes. A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m., according to a press officer for Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Craig Rothfeld, Weinstein’s authorized legal health care representative in New York state, “expressed profound dismay at the speculation surrounding Mr. Weinstein’s medical condition. It is both troubling and unacceptable that such private and confidential health matters have become a subject of public discourse. Out of respect for Mr. Weinstein’s privacy, we will offer no further comment.”
Weinstein also reportedly had emergency heart surgery last month.
As the former owner of Halston, Weinstein was once part of New York City’s fashion scene to a certain degree. In August of 2007, the former film producer and the private equity firm Hilco Consumer Capital bought the once-influential, but then beleaguered brand to try to revitalize it for future generations. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed at that time.
Less than four years later Weinstein exited Halston. Although he brought high-profile attention to the brand, Weinstein had little to no operational responsibilities and was said to have been more of a figurehead. Despite Hilco’s investment of $7.5 million in new capital, and Sarah Jessica Parker’s brief run as president and chief creative officer, Halston had not rallied to the glory days that its founder Roy Halston Frowick had created.
Weinstein also collaborated with Tina Brown for Talk magazine.
During Paris Fashion Week in March 2012, the Hollywood mogul received the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor from now-former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, as Weinstein’s second wife Georgina Chapman looked on. Chapman, cofounder of the Marchesa fashion label, left Weinstein in 2017 and their divorce was settled in 2021. They have two children.
