The Academy Expels Bill Cosby & Roman Polanski

By Daniel Howat 

​The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences made the sudden announcement on Thursday that they have expelled actor Bill Cosby and director Roman Polanski from their ranks. Both men have been plagued by sexual assault allegations for years, and those voices have only increased since the fall of Harvey Weinstein in the fall of 2017. 

This news came suddenly, but it was not exactly unexpected. One week ago, Cosby was found guilty on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault. This came after dozens of other women have alleged to be assaulted by Cosby. Perhaps the more interesting addition in today’s announcement was Roman Polanski’s expulsion.

Polanski’s assault allegations go back to the seventies when he was arrested (At Jack Nicholson’s home no less) for the assault of a 13-year-old model. He agreed to a plea bargain but fled the country before sentencing. He has remained protected from extradition as a French citizen ever since. During this time, Polanski continued to make films. In 2002 his World War II film “The Pianist” won multiple Academy Awards, including Best Director for Polanskihimself. Still, Roman Polanski couldn’t attend the awards due to his pending assault charges. All this time, though not allowed in the country, Polanski remained a member of the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

“The Board continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity,” the Academy said in the statement announcing these new expulsions. Now, Cosby and Polanski join a shockingly small group of those expelled from the Academy. Harvey Weinstein was removed in October 2017 after the deluge of allegations emerged against him. Only one other person has been removed: Carmine Caridi, who in 2004 had shared a screener with a friend who uploaded it to the Internet. A two-thirds majority vote by the Academy Board of Governors, and for these three latest men, it was an overwhelming majority to expel them.

Allegations of sexual assault hit even closer to home for the Academy recently. On March 13th, John Bailey, the newly elected President of the Academy, received an allegation of sexual harassment, prompting an internal investigation from the Academy. This was the first test of new procedures enacted to address allegations such as these. Two weeks later, the Academy found no wrongdoing, and nothing warranting disciplinary measures for Bailey.

As we know, there are many other men in the Academy who have allegations of assault against them. Why choose to act against Polanski now, but not others like Kevin Spacey? Of course, Polanski and Cosby now have the convictions against them while Spacey’s have yet to go to court, but Weinstein hasn’t either. Is the Academy picking only the highest profile cases? Woody Allen, another high-profile figure with allegations against him, is not a member of the Academy, despite having record-setting nominations and wins, and so, therefore, can’t be expelled. Still, if this is a new standard across all members of the Academy, including those whose names are lesser known, will we see more expulsions soon?

Polanski has been nominated for five Academy Awards going back to 1969. Cosby had never received any Academy Award nominations, but eight Primetime Emmy Awards, including the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in 2003.

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