Roman Polanski Challenges Academy Of Motion Pictures Over Expulsion, Decries #MeToo ‘Hysteria’

Roman Polanski, an Oscar-winning director, was barred from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences earlier this month alongside fellow sexual felon Bill Cosby. Although he was permitted to keep his Oscar, Polanski is extremely upset about the ruling.

ROMAN POLANSKI CHALLENGES THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURES OVER HIS EXPULSION

As a response to his banning, Polanski is threatening to sue the Academy. Harland Braun, his attorney, wrote a letter to the organization demanding his client be given a hearing, arguing the committee broke its own guidelines as well as California’s laws in removing Polanski from its membership.

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“We are not here contesting the merits of the expulsion decision, but rather your organization’s blatant disregard of its own Standards of Conduct in, as well as its violations of the standards required by California Corporations Code,” Braun penned. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Braun explained they’re only requesting Polanski be granted “a hearing, a chance to present his side.”

In an interview made prior to his expulsion, Polanski described the #MeToo movement as a “collective hysteria of the kind that sometimes happens in the society,” adding how people are “trying to sign up, chiefly out of fear.” Polanski finds this proposed paranoia comical, directly comparing it to how North Korea mourns its deceased leaders.

Polanski is currently a fugitive, having fled the United States following a guilty plea in 1977 where he confessed he had sex with a minor, the then-thirteen-year-old Samantha Geimer. In the time since, Polanski has remained in Europe where he continues to film movies. He also unsuccessfully tried to have his court case resolved in his absence.