Thursday, April 18, 2024
Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been stripped of his honorary CBE following his conviction for rape and sexual assault.
An official announcement in The Gazette confirms that the Queen has annulled his appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
The decision was made at a recent meeting of the Honours Forfeiture Committee, which is independent of government.
Weinstein was awarded the CBE in 2004.
In March, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison, following an investigation by the New York Times in Oct 2017 that published accusations from several women that the now 68-year-old producer had abused or harassed them.
The removal of Weinstein's CBE for services to the film industry follows 2017 rescinding of the Fellowship he received from the British Film Institute (BFI) in 2002.
The Honours Forfeiture Committee meets when required to consider whether recipients are guilty of behaviour "deemed to bring the honours system into disrepute".
Those from whom it has stripped honours in the past include entertainer Rolf Harris, who lost his CBE in 2015 after being jailed for 12 indecent assaults the previous year.
In 2012 Fred Goodwin, the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, had his knighthood removed due to his role in the collapse of the bank.
Weinstein faces further criminal charges for rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles, though extradition proceedings were put back to December last month due to the coronavirus pandemic.
(Source: BBC)
