Harvey Weinstein Expelled from Motion Picture Academy
The board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to expel Harvey Weinstein following numerous allegations of assault made against him.
The organization behind the Oscars said its board “voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority” to expel the Hollywood film producer.
The board’s members include Hollywood figures such as Tom Hanks and Whoopi Goldberg.
Harvey Weinstein’s films have received more than 300 Oscar nominations and won 81.
In a statement, the Academy said governors voted to expel Harvey Weinstein “not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in s**ually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over”.
They added: “What’s at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society.”
The emergency board meeting followed an avalanche of accusations against Harvey Weinstein by more than two dozen women, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rose McGowan, who alleges that he raped her in a hotel room.
The NYPD and the UK police are investigating the allegations.
Image source Wikimedia
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Harvey Weinstein has apologized for some aspects of his behavior but insisted that any contacts he had were consensual, and he denies accusations of harassment, rape and assault.
The 65-year-old’s expulsion comes after Bob Weinstein told the Hollywood Reporter that his “sick and depraved” brother should be “kicked out” of the Academy.
Harvey Weinstein’s expulsion means he will no longer be able to vote for nominees or winners in the Oscars.
Hollywood figures were quick to praise the move but some have called for the Academy to take similar action against other members.
It is only the second time a member has been expelled. Carmine Caridi had his membership revoked in 2004 after he allegedly sent confidential film preview videos to a friend which ended up online.
As the co-founder of Miramax Pictures and the Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein produced some of the most celebrated movies, including Pulp Fiction, The English Patient and Shakespeare in Love.
Harvey Weinstein has been thanked dozens of times in Oscar acceptance speeches, and in 2012 Meryl Streep jokingly referred to him as “God” onstage.
As accusations against Harvey Weinstein began to mount in recent days, film industry heavyweights came out to publicly condemn him and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) suspended his membership.
The French government is reportedly considering revoking Harvey Weinstein’s Legion of Honour, France’s highest civilian distinction, and there have been calls from some British politicians for his honorary CBE title to be revoked.
During an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Bob Weinstein called his brother “sick and depraved” and said he had no idea of “the type of predator that he was”.
Bob Weinstein refused to comment on reports that he and the board of Weinstein Company were aware of his brother’s settlements with women during recent contract negotiations, saying only that the board “did not know the extent of my brother’s actions”.
He went on to call Harvey Weinstein’s apology statement “utter insanity” and a “lame excuse”.
“I’ll tell you what I did know,” he said.
“Harvey was a bully, Harvey was arrogant…that I knew.”
Earlier, Bob Weinstein denied media reports that the Weinstein Company – which has placed Harvey Weinstein on indefinite leave – could now be closed or sold.
However, several large film projects have been pulled from the company already, and reports in the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal said that financers had begun to pressure the board to sell.