Harvey Weinstein’s membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been revoked.
The Academy voted to take the 65-year-old producer’s membership away from him after allegations were made that he sexually harassed a number of women over three decades.
In a statement, the Academy said: "[The board had] to immediately expel him from the Academy. 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.
"What’s at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society. The board continues to work to establish ethical standards of conduct that all Academy members will be expected to exemplify."
It has been reported that it was the board of governors – which includes the likes of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Whoopi Goldberg – who decided to revoke the membership.
The Academy’s rules state that the board of governors, with a two-thirds vote, may eject a member "for cause". They confirmed that in this case, "well in excess of the two-thirds majority" voted to revoke Weinstein’s membership.
It comes after Harvey’s brother Bob revealed his older sibling could lose his ownership interest in The Weinstein Company.
Referring to Harvey’s plan to fight his firing, Bob said: "Anybody can do what they want to do. I cannot control other people’s actions. But he was fired by the board, okay? I was on that board. I fired him. He can fight. It will be a losing fight … That is correct [that he has ownership interest in the company] and we are going to seek to sever that. It can’t be done that quickly. But I am on it 24/7 and so is David Glasser and so is the board of directors that remain and so are the shareholders. This is being dealt with."
Harvey Weinstein loses Academy membership
