Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein has been stripped of his honorary CBE following his conviction for rape and sexual assault. 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. But he 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. He was jailed for 23 years as he convicted rape and sexual assault.
The Honours Forfeiture Committee meets when required to consider whether recipients are guilty of behaviour “deemed to bring the honours system into disrepute”.
Although the committee was almost certainly reluctant to take action while a legal process was underway, it could not have been unaware of the revulsion many felt at Weinstein still continuing to hold an honour at this time. While many individuals and bodies wrote to the Prime Minister demanding the revocation of Weinstein’s CBE, the removal of honor is actually a decision that’s independent of the government and Downing Street.
It’s also worth noting that a case as high profile as Weinstein’s was always going to be on the Forfeiture Committee’s radar, with or without calls from the public or MPs. And that the decision to strip the former of the film producer isn’t in direct response to these demands. However many will believe that the committee should have been poised to make a speedy decision and send a swift signal once he was convicted in February. And will feel that even with a system slowed by COVID, that it still shouldn’t have taken more than six months to rescind the CBE of a convicted sex offender.
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