Executives of the Television Academy have voted to ban Harvey Weinstein from the organization for life following allegations of sexual assault and harassment.
The Hollywood executive has been stripped of his membership to organizations like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Producers Guild of America after he was accused of sexual assault and harassment by a number of women, including Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Rose McGowan.
Executives at the Television Academy, the organizers of the Emmy Awards, have now decided to follow suit, voting to permanently ban him after a hearing on Monday (06Nov17).
“The Television Academy’s governance has voted to expel Harvey Weinstein from the Academy for life,” representatives told Variety in a statement. “The Academy supports those speaking out against harassment in all forms and stands behind those who have been affected by this issue. The unfolding and widespread examples of this horrific behavior are deeply disturbing to the Academy’s leadership.”
They continued the statement by stating they would be reviewing and revising their membership codes of conduct and have been in talks with industry leaders about providing clear workplace benchmarks “reflecting decency and respect” to protect workers from “predatory harassment”.
Weinstein, who has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex, is under separate criminal and civil rights investigations in Los Angeles, New York, and London. His BFI Fellowship has also been rescinded and his British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) membership suspended.
The vote came the same day as a new article in The New Yorker was published alleging that Weinstein hired private investigators, including ex-Mossad agents, in late 2016 to track actresses and journalists in a bid to keep allegations suppressed.
In the case of McGowan, private investigators reportedly used false identities and met with the actress to extract information from her, with one posing as a women’s rights advocate, while the producer enlisted journalists to help him uncover information which could undermine any allegation.
In response, his spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister, said: “It is a fiction to suggest that any individuals were targeted or suppressed at any time.”
