Former film producer Harvey Weinstein has been diagnosed with a form of bone marrow cancer while in jail. Weinstein, 72, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (per NBC News) while serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault at New York City’s Rikers Island prison.
According to the American Cancer Society, chronic myeloid leukemia is a type of cancer that starts in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and invades the blood. The organization says approximately 15% of leukemias in adults are CML.
The Hollywood Reporter said that Weinstein is undergoing treatment while imprisoned at Rikers Island. Weinstein’s authorized legal healthcare representative in New York, Craig Rothfeld, refused to confirm reports of Weinstein’s condition and instead 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 has experienced multiple health issues amid his ongoing sexual assault trials — in July, Weinstein’s representatives said he was hospitalized for a “myriad of health conditions,” including COVID-19 and double pneumonia, and this past September, he was rushed to Bellevue Hospital for emergency heart surgery after experiencing chest pains, his representatives told ABC News. Weinstein also suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, fluid on his heart and lungs, and various other conditions.
Weinstein has denied all claims of sexual misconduct, saying his encounters were always consensual. The former movie mogul is being prosecuted again for sex crimes after a New York court of appeals overturned Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction and ordered a retrial. He had been found guilty of criminal sexual assault and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
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