Harvey Weinstein expelled by Oscars Academy: statement

RIGHT: Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company gestures during a break on the first day of the Allen and Co. media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, US, July 9, 2014. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/Files; BACKGROUND: An Oscar statue is seen during a reception for Oscar-nominated short films ahead of the upcoming 88th Academy Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California, US, February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok

 

LOS ANGELES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has expelled Harvey Weinstein, it said on Saturday, amid mounting sexual harassment, assault, and rape accusations against the disgraced Hollywood mogul.

An emergency meeting of its board "voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority", it said in a statement.

"We do so 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 sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over," the statement read.