The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the annual Oscar awards, announced Thursday that its Board of Governors has decided to expel actor Bill Cosby and director Roman Polanski. The organization said the men did not meet its standards of conduct, and added that it requires its members to "uphold the Academy's values of respect for human dignity."
Last month, Cosby was found guilty on three counts of indecent aggravated assault, having been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting plaintiff Andrea Constand in 2004. Dozens of other women have accused him of misconduct. Since he was charged, more than a dozen colleges and universities have revoked Cosby's honorary degrees.
Polanski, the director of Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby, has lived as a fugitive from the U.S. after being charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old in 1977. He has received six Oscar nominations, and won Best Director for The Pianist in 2002.