Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer whose predatory behavior sparked the Me Too movement and landed him in prison, has chronic myeloid leukemia, according to major outlets.
Unnamed sources told NBC and CNN that Weinstein is being treated at Rikers Island in New York for the disease, which is an uncommon cancer of the bone marrow. The five-year survival rate for the 72-year-old Weinstein’s 65-and-older age bracket is 50.3%, according to the City of Hope.
A represntative for the former studio boss did not deny the reports but called them “unacceptable.”
“It is both troubling and unacceptable that such private and confidential health matters have become a subject of public discourse,” Craig Rothfeld, Weinstein’s prison consultant and health care representative, said in a statement to CNN. “Out of respect for Mr. Weinstein’s privacy, we will offer no further comment.”
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Weinstein’s latest health turn follows emergency heart surgery in September and his hospitalization in July with COVID-19 and double pneumonia. He also has diabetes.
He was convicted in New York of rape in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years behind bars, but that conviction was eventually overturned. He is still serving a 16-year sentence for rape in a Los Angeles case.
He faces a retrial in New York, possibly next month. Another Weinstein spokesperson declined to comment to CNN on whether his diagnosis will affect the status of the proceeding.