‘He isn’t in control’: Harvey Weinstein is finally in jail
Weeks after he was convicted of rape, Harvey Weinstein has finally been transferred from a New York hospital to prison, after undergoing heart surgery.
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Harvey Weinstein underwent heart surgery while locked up at Bellevue Hospital and is now in jail on Rikers Island.
“He had a heart stent put in last night,” a source familiar with the procedure told the New York Post.
“It took four hours.”
Weinstein, 67, left the hospital around 1pm, according to spokesman Juda Engelmayer, and records show he was taken to the North Infirmary at Rikers.
“He’s nervous but he isn’t in control and has to deal with it,” a source said, according to Page Six.
The disgraced Hollywood mogul never made it to jail right after a jury convicted him of rape and criminal sexual act last month.
He suffered heart palpitations and high blood pressure and was re-routed to Bellevue.
He’s been holed up in a private hospital room there since the February 24 verdict. Weinstein is expected to cool his heels at Rikers until his March 11 sentencing in Manhattan Supreme Court.
In jail, TMZ claimed Weinstein will be kept under intense surveillance to avoid a “Jeffrey Epstein-like” incident.
The gossip site claims Rikers Island’s North Infirmary Command or ANNEX are the likely jails Weinstein will be sent to – they are prisons that reportedly specialise in inmates with health issues.
His cell would include around-the-clock cameras to ensure the disgraced Hollywood mogul does not harm himself, TMZ reports.
Meantime, lawyers for the 67-year-old Weinstein insisted he was buoyed by plans to appeal his sexual assault and rape conviction, and that the detour to Bellevue Hospital on the way to the city’s notorious Rikers Island prison complex was precautionary.
But Weinstein lawyer’s Arthur Aidala insisted the disgraced former Hollywood mogul was “in pretty good spirits” and was “energised”.
‘I TRIED TO BLOCK IT OUT’
A juror from Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial has spoken out about the issues she had trying to determine his guilt or innocence.
The woman, who is only named as Juror No. 2, said it was “hard not to make a face” when the jury was shown photos of the 67-year-old’s naked body.
“I tried to block it out,” the juror told Inside Edition. “It was presented to us, so it wasn’t something that we could have blocked out, but it’s hard not to make a face.”
The photos were shown to the jury after one of Weinstein’s accusers, Jessica Mann, told the court that he had a “deformed body”, that she didn’t believe he had testicles and that his penis looked like a vagina.
The juror said she hopes Weinstein’s conviction will provide some closure for his victims.
“Every last woman that took the stand, I wish them the best,” she said. “I hope this is now a chapter that they can close and move forward with their lives now.”
TRUMP HAILS WEINSTEIN VERDICT
US President Donald Trump has said Harvey Weinstein’s conviction for rape and sexual assault is a “great thing.”
Mr Trump called it a “great victory” for women that “sends a very strong message” for the #MeToo movement against predatory behaviour towards women.
Mr Trump himself stands accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour by more than a dozen women when he was a private citizen. The US President has denied the allegations. Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi at the end of a two-day trip to India, Mr Trump said he was never a “fan” of Weinstein.
Mr Trump claimed Democrats are the ones who liked the now-disgraced movie mogul, saying it’s because Weinstein contributed to their political campaigns.
“I was never a fan of Harvey Weinstein,” Mr Trump told reporters. “I was just not a fan of his. I knew him a little bit. The people that liked him were the Democrats. Michelle Obama loved him. Hillary Clinton loved him.”
A New York jury convicted the former Hollywood mogul on Monday of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault. Weinstein had denied any allegations of non-consensual sex.
ACTRESS FEARS WEINSTEIN ‘COULD STILL KILL’ HER
Meanwhile, actress Rose McGowan still does not feel safe from Weinstein even now that he’s in police custody — fearing that he could hire a “hitman” to kill her, she said in a UK TV interview.
McGowan, 46, was one of the first to publicly accuse the Hollywood producer whom she called “potentially one of the biggest serial rapists in history” on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday (local time).
As well as having a “full machine set up only to rape,” Weinstein also had a shady network willing to help him silence his victims, McGowan insisted, comparing it to a real-life spy novel, reports the New York Post.
“He very much came after me, he and his giant machine of other monsters — enablers, people that he paid to do dastardly things,” she said.
“The other night, I have to be honest, I was sitting at home and I was thinking I should do the laundry and then I thought, ‘Oh, I wonder if he gets convicted if he’ll hire a hitman to kill me?’”
She told the UK show, “These are just casual thoughts of my life and that’s what’s so wrong and sick. And that’s why I fought so hard for this to stop.”
The Charmed star conceded that she felt no hope and fully expected the 67-year-old to be exonerated in his New York trial that ended with his conviction Monday and the prospect of up to 29 years behind bars.
“The last time I actually had hope was the moment before I was raped by him,” she said of her accusations that were not part of the trial.
“I would rather he just cease to exist, I think the world would be better off,” she said.
“I’m happy there is one less serial predator on the streets because I can tell you that people would not be safe if he was out.”
WEINSTEIN HEADED TO ‘TORTURE ISLAND’
It comes as convicted rapist Weinstein was taken to a New York hospital after the verdict as a “precautionary measure” after complaining of “chest pains”.
The disgraced producer was being taken from Manhattan Supreme Court to Rikers Island in an ambulance when he suffered high blood pressure, his rep, Juda Engelmayer, said.
A paramedic in the ambulance made the call to redirect to New York’s Bellevue hospital, Mr Engelmayer added.
Although Weinstein, 67, does suffer from ailments including diabetes and a bad back, a source said he was “faking it a little bit.”
His lawyer, Donna Rotunno, said in an appearance on Fox News that he was also being checked out for heart palpitations, adding: “He’s OK.”
Weinstein is being held in the hospital’s prison ward. He is not handcuffed to his bed, but kept under close watch by corrections officers, sources said, according to the New York Post.
Bellevue is known for its psychiatric facility, but it also serves as a hospital for jail inmates.
A lawyer for Weinstein, who has regularly used a walker while heading to his court appearances, reminded Judge James Burke on Monday of some of her client’s ailments, noting he takes several medications and requires injections in his eyes to forestall blindness.
His legal team also claims that he has been having heart palpitations.
He will then await sentencing at one of the world’s most violent and controversial prisons, New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex.
Situated on the East River between Queens and the Bronx, Rikers — nicknamed Torture Island — has an average population of 10,000 inmates and is plagued by gang violence and allegations of human rights abuses by prison officers.
The New York City Council late last year approved plans to close the notorious prison by 2026, citing regular violent incidents, and it will be replaced by four smaller jails, one each in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.
Weinstein’s legal team has requested that he be housed in the North Infirmary Command, which is home to inmates requiring extreme protective custody, those with severe health problems and prisoners undergoing drug detoxification.
North Infirmary consists of two dank infirmary buildings, one of them the original Rikers Island Hospital built in 1932. According to previous workers, the infirmary does not provide much of a respite to inmates.
Weinstein’s team has asked that he be brought to the Anna M Kross Centre — named after the second female commissioner in the Department of Corrections — which serves as a mental health unit and has a capacity of 2988 inmates.
It’s a dizzying fall from grace for the former movie mogul, who once ruled Hollywood. The 67-year-old, now known as prisoner 06581138Z, will be sentenced on March 11.
Weinstein, 67, faced charges on two counts of rape, two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of a criminal sexual act.
The Oscar-winner, whose films included Shakespeare in Love, was found guilty of a criminal act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.
The disgraced Hollywood heavyweight was acquitted on the most serious charges, of predatory sexual assault, which had carried a potential life sentence.
Weinstein had a look of resignation on his face as he heard the verdict that could send him to prison for up to 29 years.
His lawyer Arthur Aidala told news.com.au his client proclaimed his innocence after the verdict was announced.
“The words he said over and over again to me is: ‘I’m innocent, I’m innocent, I’m innocent. How could this happen in America?’” Mr Aidala said.
STARS REACT
Hollywood stars have been quick to react to the verdict, led by the women that have accused Weinstein of sexual assault or other misconduct.
Ambra Gutierrez, who helped expose Weinstein, said the verdict was just the start.
“This is an example for many to follow,” she said outside the courtroom.
“Someone even this powerful could never treat people the way that he did and think that he can never be prosecuted.”
Rose McGowan said it was a “huge step”.
Today is a powerful day & a huge step forward in our collective healing
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) February 24, 2020
Mira Sorvino was also hopeful of change.
The beginning of #justice. More to come, my sisters. #weinsteinguilty
— Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) February 24, 2020
Ashley Judd and Reese Witherspoon credited the women at the centre of the New York case.
I am. Thank you. I am thinking about how it took 90 women coming forward for two guilty convictions.... https://t.co/S8NehU2Itv
— ashley judd (@AshleyJudd) February 24, 2020
Today’s historic win in the Weinstein trial is a testament to the bravery and resilience of the #SilenceBreakers, and a victory for survivors everywhere. This is just the beginning. Join @TIMESUPNOW’s fight for safety, equity & justice in every workplace: https://t.co/WotjoNnlA3
— Reese Witherspoon (@ReeseW) February 24, 2020
Rosanna Arquette said despite an appeal by his lawyers, Weinstein will now “always be a rapist”.
As we speak Weinstein’s attorneys are filing to keep him out of jail .no matter what happens he will always be a rapist. next Los Angeles trial More survivors on the stand.
— Rosanna Arquette🌎✌🼠(@RoArquette) February 24, 2020
The charges stemmed from the allegations of former Project Runway production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi, who said he forced oral sex on her on July 10, 2006, at his Soho apartment; one-time aspiring actress Jessica Mann, who claimed Weinstein raped her on March 18, 2013, at the DoubleTree Hotel in mid-town Manhattan; and The Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra, who accused Weinstein of raping her in the winter of 1993-1994 at her New York apartment.
The seven-man, five-woman Manhattan Supreme Court panel in the rape trial of the disgraced Hollywood movie maker began considering the sex crimes charges against him last Tuesday morning local time.
“This is the new landscape for survivors of sexual assault in America, I believe, and it is a new day. It is a new day because Harvey Weinstein has finally been held accountable for crimes he committed,” District lawyer Cyrus Vance Jr. said.
“Weinstein is a vicious, serial sexual predator who used his power to threaten, rape, assault and trick, humiliate and silence his victims.”
Weinstein’s lawyers said they will appeal.
“Harvey is very strong. Harvey is unbelievably strong. He took it like a man,” defence lawyer Donna Rotunno said.
“He knows that we will continue to fight for him, and we know that this is not over.”
Deliberations began shortly after Justice James Burke finished giving jurors detailed legal instructions on how to decide whether Weinstein is guilty.
The judge cautioned jurors in the trial that their verdict is “not a referendum on the #MeToo movement”.
Weinstein, a father of five, has maintained his innocence from the onset, pleading not guilty to all of the charges.
He has claimed that all of his sexual encounters were consensual.
The jury had last week failed to reach a verdict after four days of deliberations and requested clarification from the judge on several matters.
On Friday, they asked the presiding judge if they can be “hung” on the two counts of predatory sexual assault which could jail him for life.
After consulting with prosecutors and Weinstein’s lawyers, Judge Burke told the jury of seven men and five women to keep working toward a unanimous verdict on all charges and sent them back to continue deliberating.
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Weinstein’s lawyers said they would accept a partial verdict, but prosecutors said no and Judge Burke refused to do so.
Judge Burke told the jurors it is not uncommon for juries to have difficulty reaching a unanimous verdict, but that most are eventually able to do so.
In their note to the court, jurors asked whether it was acceptable to be deadlocked on the two charges and unanimous on the other three.
“Any verdict you return on any count, whether guilty or not guilty, must be unanimous,” the judge said.
“And so I will ask you to continue your deliberations and let me just take this juncture to thank you for your hard work,” he said.
Jurors started the fourth day of deliberations by listening to a reading Sciorra’s cross-examination and follow-up questioning by prosecutors. About 90 minutes into the reading, the jurors notified the judge they had “heard enough” and resumed their deliberations.
The verdict is not the end of Weinstein’s legal issues, with Los Angeles prosecutors waiting until the New York trial ended to commence proceedings in new sexual assault charges, which carry a potential 28 years jail.
Once one of Hollywood’s most powerful men, Weinstein suffered a dramatic downfall since being accused by more than 80 women of sexual offences, the first revelations lighting the match that sparked the #MeToo movement in October 2017.
Weinstein issued an apology at the time, acknowledging he had caused “a lot of pain”, but disputed suggestions he had harassed women over three decades.
His lawyers argued that as figurehead of a cultural reckoning, Weinstein won’t have a fair trial.
Dozens of women including some of Hollywood’s biggest have accused Weinstein of sexual assault after he was first exposed as a serial predator by media reports in 2017.
He also faces a series of civil suits from actors Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan and more than 30 other accusers, several of which are reportedly close to being settled in a $36.3 million payout.
Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s most powerful men for decades and the production house he ran with his brother generated some of the most successful films of the 1990s and 2000s.
He was accused of using his prominent position to pressure women into sex, retaliating against those who refused him by destroying their careers and employing a series of shadowy operatives to gather dirt on his accusers to deter scrutiny of his behaviour.
The media reports that eventually brought him down won Pulitzer Prizes for their authors and sparked a cultural reckoning that ended the careers of dozens of high profile men accused of sexual harassment and worse.
Los Angeles District lawyer Jackie Lacey announced the new charges against Weinstein on the first day of his New York trial.
They allege he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another days before the Oscars in 2013 when his wife was pregnant.
The first woman accused Weinstein of raping her in her hotel room after a film festival, and threatening to kill her if she disclosed the attack, while the second woman says he sexually assaulted her in the bathroom of Beverly Hills Hotel suite.
Weinstein has not entered a plea to the charges of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint.
HOW WEINSTEIN’S EX MOVED ON
Meanwhile, Weinstein's ex-wife British designer Georgina Chapman has moved on with Oscar-winner, Adrien Brody.
The couple are said to have been dating since September.
Brody and Chapman, who initially met through Weinstein, were introduced “properly” at a swimwear launch in Puerto Rico, where they reportedly “bonded over cocktails”.
Brody was previously close to the disgraced mogul and was often pictured with him at Hollywood events.
Chapman filed for divorce in 2017 citing Weinstein’s “unforgivable actions” for the reason for their break-up.
Her disgraced ex also threatened the survival of her fashion label Marchesa, but Chapman has had high profile supporters such as Scarlett Johansson and Anna Wintour, who have both publicly supported her.
– with AP
Originally published as ‘He isn’t in control’: Harvey Weinstein is finally in jail