Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski expelled from Oscars academy

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which oversees the Oscars, has expelled Bill Cosby and Roman Polanksi following a vote of the board on Tuesday.

In a statement, the academy said it had expelled the actor and director “in accordance with the organisation’s Standards of Conduct”.

“The Board continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity,” it added.

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Cosby was found guilty last week of three counts of aggravated indecent assault and faces up to 30 years in prison. Polanski, who admitted to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in 1977, spent 42 days in prison but fled the US amid fears a plea deal would be scrapped.

“Many people have been asking what took the academy so long to take action against Polanski,” says the BBC.

According to the ABC, only “four academy members are now known to have been expelled”.

Producer Harvey Weinstein was removed in October 2017 in the wake of a string of serious sexual harassment and assault claims, and actor Carmine Caridi was expelled in 2004 for sharing confidential copies of films with a friend, which ended up online.