About one week after the New York Times published a damning report about Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual misconduct, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided to revoke the movie mogul’s lifetime membership. It was a bold move that received plenty of praise; however, it has since put the academy in a difficult situation.
You see, the claims against Weinstein set off an avalanche of assault and harassment claims in Hollywood, effecting the reputations and careers of a growing list of industry insiders. The Academy seemed to make an example out of Weinstein, stating it would not associate with “someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues.” It added that the “era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior […] in our industry is over.” Honorable stance.
But what about all the other industry figures who are now facing sexual misconduct allegations? When will they be expelled from the Academy?
“[T]hey didn’t give themselves time to plot out how to deal with this going forward,” one female Academy member told Page Six. “Kathleen Kennedy [producer of the Star Wars series] and some other female governors panicked and felt compelled to act. They thought [Weinstein] could hurt AMPAS’ cred. Some of them did admit this was a slippery slope. But I don’t think they imagined how slippery. It’s definitely caused some problems and fights among the board members.”
But here’s the thing: Even before the Weinstein assault scandal resurfaced, the Academy seemingly turned a blind eye to sexual misconduct allegations. Shortly after Weinstein’s expulsion was announced, many people began asking when accused predators like Roman Polanski and Casey Affleck would also be ousted. The apparent double standard became more of a problem as allegations mounted.
Academy officials have been hit with countless letters and complaints, calling for the expulsion of other accused men.
Publicist Edward Lozzi, who represents two of Bill Cosby’s alleged victims, has contacted the Academy for this very reason.
“I asked. . . why people like that are still in when you’re sacking others? Most of the public doesn’t even know who Harvey Weinstein is,” he told Page Six. “There’s been no response to my letter. It would be nice for [the] Academy to let us know they are not totally apathetic.”
One member of the Academy’s board of governors insisted he had no regrets about ousting Weinstein so swiftly, because they “didn’t really have a choice”; he admits that they had no time to really consider the repercussions of their decision.
“None of [us] really know what the governors are thinking on this subject. They rarely tell us anything until they’ve decided. Then we have to read it in the trades or get a curt e-mail from Dawn [Hudson, the Academy’s CEO], usually after it appears in the press. All we can do is roll our eyes,” another member said. “I’m in favor of taking a very measured approach and not a knee-jerk reaction.”
