Weinstein out at Motion Picture Academy: The 'era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity' is over

Movie producer Harvey Weinstein was expelled Saturday from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the premier film industry professional organization and host of the Oscars, amid mounting sexual harassment and rape allegations against the mogul. A special meeting of the 54-member board voted overwhelmingly to remove Weinstein, a decision with the sole precedent of the 2004 expulsion of an actor named Carmine Caridi for alleged copyright infringement.

"We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues," the Academy said in a statement, "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."

Weinstein has denied the accusations against him, which snowballed after investigations by The New Yorker and The New York Times.

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