Oscars board expels Harvey Weinstein from Academy amid sexual assault reports

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revoked the membership of Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul accused of decades of sexual abuse, the board announced in a statement Saturday.

The board voted “well in excess of the required two-thirds majority” to expel Weinstein, the board of governors said in a statement.

“We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues 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,” the board wrote.

The Oscars board, which previously called Weinstein’s conduct “repugnant,” met Saturday to discuss whether it should take action against the embattled Miramax co-founder.

Almost half of the Academy’s board of 54 governors are women. The board also includes prominent Hollywood figures such as Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Dern and Steven Spielberg.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts suspended Weinstein on Wednesday.

Weinstein was the subject of two explosive exposés by the New York Times and the New Yorker, which chronicled decades of predatory behavior by the powerful producer. Several women, including the Italian actress and director Asia Argento, alleged that they had been sexually assaulted by Weinstein.

He was fired by the Weinstein Company amid the ongoing scandal and his wife, Georgina Chapman, announced that she is leaving him. A number of celebrities also released statements condemning him.

The Academy’s move Saturday was rare. Several other prominent figures with histories of sexual misconduct or alleged sexual misconduct — including Bill Cosby, Roman Polanski and Woody Allen — all remain members. The last time the board voted to revoke someone’s membership was in 2004 when actor Carmine Caridi was ousted after it was discovered he had given promotional versions of movies to an acquaintance who later shared them online.