According to numerous media reports, disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein has been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. NBC News was the first among them.
Weinstein, 72, has chronic myelogenous leukemia and is undergoing treatment behind bars at Rikers Island, the reports say, citing sources.
Chronic myelogenous leukemia is a rare form of bone marrow cancer, says the Mayo Clinic.
His reported diagnosis is the latest in a series of health problems for the once-powerful entertainment mogul, who appeared pale and visibly weak during a brief court appearance in September.
Seth Wenig/Getty Images
He went under emergency heart surgery last monthafter which his representative said he was “currently out of danger”.
A statement to CBS News from Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said: “Craig Rothfeld, Mr. Weinstein’s authorized legal healthcare representative in the State of New York, expresses his “deep dismay at the speculation surrounding Mr. Weinstein’s medical condition. It is both disturbing and unacceptable that such private and confidential health issues have become the subject of public debate. Out of respect for Mr. Weinstein’s privacy, we will have no further comment.”
Weinstein is serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted convicted of rape in California.
He was also convicted in New York in 2020 for the rape and sexual assault of an actress and for forcibly performing oral sex on a production assistant. Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in that case.
However, there is an appeals court in New York overturned the verdict in Aprilruling that the judge had improperly allowed testimony from prosecutors who were not directly involved in the charges Weinstein faced.
A new trial in the case was scheduled for November, although prosecutors said it was “unrealistic.”
Allegations against Weinstein helped spark the #MeToo movement in 2017, a turning point for women fighting sexual misconduct.
More than 80 women have accused him of harassment, assault or rape, including prominent actors Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd.
Weinstein has claimed that all of the sexual relationships in question were consensual.
In 1979, Weinstein and his brother Bob co-founded the prominent Hollywood studio Miramax Films.
Their hits included 1994’s “Pulp Fiction” and 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love,” for which Weinstein shared a Best Picture Oscar.
