Oscars kick out Cosby and Polanski
DISGRACED star Bill Cosby and fugitive film director Roman Polanski were expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday.
The decision was taken by the governors of the academy, which organises the Oscars, out of ‘respect for human dignity’ and ‘in accordance with the organisation’s standards of conduct’, a statement said.
Cosby, 80, was last week convicted of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004 and is awaiting sentencing. Polanski, 84, fled the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to having unlawful sex with a teenager.
Only four people are known to have been expelled by the academy in its 91-year history. Oscars chiefs kicked out film producer Harvey Weinstein in October over many allegations of sexual misconduct.