LOS ANGELES/LONDON: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled producer Harvey Weinstein on Saturday, after allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted a number of women over the past three decades, a sharp smack for a Hollywood mogul known for powering a string of films to Oscar gold.
The academy said in a statement that its 54-member board of governors “voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority to immediately expel him from the Academy.”
A representative for Weinstein, Sallie Hofmeister, had no immediate comment.
The expulsion from the film industry’s most prestigious organisation follows allegations reported by The New York Times and The New Yorker from a number of women that Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them in incidents dating back to the 1980s, including three who said they had been raped.
Weinstein, 65, has denied having non-consensual sex with anyone.
For Weinstein, who made a name for himself and his studio with the critical and commercial success of a number of small-budget independent films, the expulsion was just the latest fallout — both professional and personal — from allegations that have rocked an industry that has often looked the other way when confronted by reports of sexual misconduct.
Meanwhile, British actress Lysette Anthony has told police that Harvey Weinstein raped her, the Sunday Times reported, becoming the fifth woman to level such accusations against the disgraced Hollywood mogul.
The 54-year-old actress, who currently appears in British soap Hollyoaks, told Metropolitan Police last week that she had originally met Weinstein in New York, and agreed to meet him later at his rented house in London, according to the paper.
“The next thing I knew he was half undressed and he grabbed me. It was the last thing I expected and I fled,” she told the Times. — Reuters/AFP
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