United States: Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood mogul and a central figure in the #MeToo movement, has been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. The 72-year-old is presently receiving treatment in prison for chronic myeloid leukaemia, a type of cancer that begins in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow and extends to the blood.
Chronic myeloid leukaemia accounts for about 15 percent of leukaemia cases in adults, according to the American Cancer Society. The news comes as Weinstein awaits a new trial in New York after the State Court of Appeals overturned his 2020 convictions for rape and sexual assault.
The court ruled that the judge in his original trial had improperly allowed irrelevant allegations to be presented to the jury. Despite the ruling, Weinstein remains detained due to a 16-year prison sentence for similar crimes in Los Angeles.
Weinstein is also facing a new legal battle, having pleaded not guilty to an additional charge of criminal sex act in the first degree for an alleged assault in 2006. He maintains that all of his sexual encounters were consensual.
Since his imprisonment, Weinstein has been dealing with numerous health issues, including undergoing emergency heart surgery and being treated for COVID-19 and double pneumonia earlier this year.
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