As we all know, when you’re a rich and a man, normal rules do not apply. In fact, when it comes to rich men, rules might really better be referred to as suggestions, which are actually just things lesser people say to you that you get to ignore because, at the end of the day, they don’t apply to you, almost ever!
Such is the case for Harvey Weinstein, one of the richest men in Hollywood who, although he was found guilty of rape in the 3rd degree and criminal sexual assault in the 1st degree, has yet to arrive at prison on Rikers Island where he was ordered by a judge, instead taking a respite at Bellevue Hospital.
Weinstein was apparently admitted to Bellevue because of high blood pressure, which is funny because that’s what writing this story about Weinstein has given me. However, unlike Weinstein, I am not trying to evade prison and as such do not need to spend time in a hospital.
Video footage obtained by PIX 11 shows that Weinstein has really been struggling in Bellevue, first sitting in a comfy leather armchair watching TV, and then walking around the facility unencumbered, not cuffed as he was when he was escorted out of the courtroom following his sentencing.
According to a source that talked to PIX11, he’s been walking around with the aid of a wheelchair in place of the iconic probably-prop walker he used throughout his trial and then left behind when he was found guilty. The source also said he’s receiving 24/7 protection from the Department of Correction Emergency Service Unit, even though he is the convicted criminal in this situation. Under any other circumstances, you might think it would make sense for the ESU to be protecting the other patients in the hospital, but given that Weinstein is a rich man, he’s the one that gets the protection, okay!
If you were to assume that this was all an elaborate hoax in order to further stave off his impending time in prison, you’d probably be right. PIX11’s source also said that Weinstein has made it very clear he has no desire to go to Rikers. Weinstein, who’s already started work on appealing the verdict, follows in a long line of other rich men who have committed terrible crimes and been big whiney babies about it once they’ve been caught.
I’m sure it must be a shock to the system once the money, power, influence, and privilege that have emboldened and excused the behavior of rich men for so long begins to wear off, in the rare instances where it does, and they are held accountable for their actions. Certainly, this is not the way Weinstein saw this going for himself, which explains him holding himself up in a hospital trying to avoid the reality of the situation. However, with any luck, he’ll be out of that comfy leather chair and behind bars soon, where he can await sentencing and the verdict of the other trial sill being held in LA.