Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the coronavirus, report says
- Convicted Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, The Niagara Gazette reported on Sunday, citing "officials connected to the state prison system" in New York.
- The outlet reported that Weinstein is in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility in western New York.
- Weinstein's spokesperson told The Daily Beast, however, that the former producer is unaware of any such diagnosis.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, The Niagara Gazette reported on Sunday, citing "officials connected to the state prison system" in New York.
The outlet reported that Weinstein is in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility in western New York.
Officials told the local newspaper that Weinstein is one of two Wende inmates who have tested positive for the virus, which causes a disease known as COVID-19.
Deadline reported that a New York law enforcement official confirmed Weinstein has tested positive.
Business Insider has not been able to independently confirm the reporting. And Juda Engelmayer, Weinstein's spokesperson, told The Daily Beast on Sunday that "our team ... has not heard anything like that yet."
The World Health Organization designated the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11. To date, the disease has infected 329,862 around the world, and 14,380 have died as a result.
The US ranks third globally in the number of confirmed cases. As of Sunday, there are 32,640 confirmed cases in the country and 404 deaths. New York currently has nearly half the positive cases, followed by Washington and California.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison on March 11, two weeks after a jury convicted him of sexual assault and rape.
Weinstein was found guilty of one count of first-degree criminal sexual act against the production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and one count of third-degree rape against the hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
Prosecutors had asked Judge James Burke to deliver the maximum sentence of 29 years: 25 for the sexual-assault conviction and four for the rape conviction. Ultimately, Burke sentenced him to 20 years for the former and three for the latter. The sentences will run consecutively.
Both Haleyi and Mann gave victim-impact statements in court, urging Burke to give Weinstein the harshest possible sentence.
"I have found my voice and hope for a future where monsters no longer hide in our closet," Mann said.
Weinstein gave a statement in court for the first time on Wednesday, speaking for roughly 10 minutes and lamenting at one point that "thousands of men are losing due process."
He also said he was "confused" by the ordeal and believed that he had a good friendship with Haleyi and Mann.
"I'm not going to say these aren't great people. I had wonderful times with these people. I'm just genuinely confused. Men are confused about this issue," Weinstein said, according to The Associated Press.
Despite the sentencing in New York, Weinstein's legal troubles aren't over.
Beyond a potentially lengthy appeals process, he also faces more sex-crimes charges in Los Angeles, where prosecutors have charged him with rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force, and sexual battery by restraint.
Following Weinstein's conviction, his lawyers, arguing against a lengthy sentence, suggested the 68-year-old would likely die in prison if sentenced to more than five years, calling it "a de facto life sentence."