'MeToo Trigger' Harvey Weinstein's Status... Battling Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, Related Treatment in Prisons

Harvey Weinstein, the influential American film producer who sparked the spread of the "Me too" movement, has been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

On the 21st (local time), Yonhap News reported Weinstein's illness, citing NBC News and other American media outlets. Chronic myeloid leukemia is a type of bone marrow cancer, a malignant blood disease that occurs during the process of bone marrow myeloid cells producing white blood cells.

On September 18th (local time), Harvey Weinstein appeared in court in New York, USA. 2024. 10.22 [Photo by Reuters/Yonhap News]

NBC, citing two sources, reported that Weinstein, who is incarcerated at Rikers Island prison in New York, is receiving related treatment in prison. Before the leukemia diagnosis was made public, news had emerged over the past few months that his health was deteriorating.

Last month, he was transferred to a nearby hospital due to chest pain and underwent emergency heart surgery. In July, he was hospitalized for treatment due to COVID-19 and pneumonia.

Weinstein, who was charged with sexually assaulting aspiring actresses and TV production assistants, was sentenced to 23 years in prison in the 2020 New York State first trial, and the sentence was upheld in the second trial. However, in April, the New York State Supreme Court accepted the defendant's claim that the jury was unduly influenced by the testimony of three women who were not directly related to the charges, overturned the original verdict, and sent the case back. Alvin Bragg, Manhattan District Attorney, has stated his intention to file additional charges against Weinstein following the state Supreme Court ruling.

Separately from the New York trial, Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison in California in 2022 for sexually assaulting five women in Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013, and he is currently serving that sentence. He recently underwent heart surgery and is hospitalized in a New York City hospital.

Weinstein, who founded the film distribution company Miramax, became a Hollywood mogul by distributing hit films such as Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.

However, in 2017, reports of his sexual crimes surfaced, and with famous actresses such as Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Ashley Judd publicly revealing that they were victims of Weinstein, the Me too movement was triggered worldwide.