LOS ANGELES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled producer Harvey Weinstein on Saturday, after allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted a number of women over the past three decades, a sharp smack for a Hollywood mogul known for powering a string of films to Oscar gold.

The academy said in a statement that its 54-member board of governors “voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority to immediately expel him from the Academy.” A representative for Weinstein, Sallie Hofmeister, had no immediate comment. The expulsion from the film industry’s most prestigious organisation follows allegations reported by The New York Times and The New Yorker from a number of women that Weinstein sexually harassed or assaulted them in incidents dating back to the 1980s, including three who said they had been raped.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2017