Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was hospitalized Saturday after a New York appeals court overturned his 2020 rape and sexual assault conviction. “The New York Department of Corrections has determined that Weinstein is in need of immediate medical attention,” his lawyer, Arthur L. Aidala, said in a statement to the French news agency AFP. He added: “More tests are being done on Harvey and he is being monitored.”
On Thursday, a panel of the New York State Court of Appeals ordered a new trial in a ratio of 4-3, because it found that a witness whose testimony against the defendant was not related to the case at hand was heard in the original court proceedings. The court decision sparked outrage in the MeToo movement, even though Harvey Weinstein remains in prison on a rape conviction in California.
Harvey Weinstein, 72, was found guilty by a New York court in 2020 of raping and sexually assaulting former actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006. The man was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
The MeToo movement was started in 2017 by revelations about the behavior of the outgoing producer, who in the past had enormous influence on the film industry and Hollywood. Since then, dozens of women, including actresses Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault or rape. In many cases, however, the charge has already expired. (MTI)
