Roman Polanski Blasts #MeToo and Threatens to Sue Academy
*By Max Godnick*
Movie fans are used to hearing stars thank the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but it's rare for an Oscar winner to say he wants to sue it.
The Academy-award winning director Roman Polanski threatened to take legal action against the Academy after it voted May 3 to expel him from its ranks.
The expulsion comes more than 40 years after Polanski, the filmmaker behind "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown," pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl, and 16 years since the Academy honored him as best director for "The Pianist."
Polanski's lawyer, Harland Braun, said in a letter to the Academy obtained by the [Hollywood Reporter] (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/roman-polanskis-attorney-threatens-sue-academy-directors-expulsion-1109821) that the Academy did not give his client a chance to argue his case.
The Academy revised its rules in January, with new guidelines for membership and standards of conduct after accusations of sexual assault and harassment against the Academy member Harvey Weinstein. The revelations about Weinstein's conduct led to the widespread #MeToo movement, which Polanski called "collective hysteria" and "total hypocrisy."
"I think that it's the height of hypocrisy for a known pedophile and a sex offender to disparage and criticize people that have come forward after being sexually abused by powerful people in the media and Hollywood," said Jennifer Cunningham, senior editor at the African-American-focused entertainment news site Bossip.
So why did it take the Academy so many years to take action?
"I think they did not have a choice at this point," said Cunningham, in an interview with Cheddar. "Especially with Bill Cosby's conviction, maybe they were just trying to clean house and really distance themselves from these individuals."
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled Cosby and Polanski on the same day.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/bill-and-ted-reunite-for-a-threequel).
This November, Philips Norelco is partnering with Movember® in the United States and Canada to urge men to tackle health issues that are right under their noses. Brett Bardsley, Category Leader, Philips Grooming & Beauty, and Dr. Jake Taylor MD, MPH, Chief Urology Resident at NYU Langone Health, join None of the Above to break down how this partnership is more than just growing & grooming a Mo all month long, what men should know about their own mental and physical well-being, and the impact Philips continues to have as a global health technology company supporting men’s health programming and delivering meaningful innovations.
Learn more about how to get involved at Philips.com/Movember
Food delivery giant DoorDash is acquiring European food delivery company Wolt. The all-stock deal is valued at $8.1 billion and is expected to close in the first half of 2022. The companies say they share a mission to build a global delivery platform. Gerber Kawasaki investment advisor Eva Agi joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what the deal means for Doordash, as well as its customers and investors.
Identity verification startup Socure recently raised $450 million dollars in a series E round, bringing the company's valuation to $4.5 billion. Socure says it is now the highest-valued private company in the identity verification space, and that the funds will be used to accelerate its mission to verify 100% of good identities and eliminate identity fraud across all industries. Socure Founder and CEO Johnny Ayers joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Didi Hirsch CEO Jon Goldfinger and actor Sarah Gilman join Cheddar News in support of Didi Hirsch's social media campaign, which aims to bring awareness to its upcoming event, Alive Together: Uniting to Prevent Suicide.
Attorney Michael Burg joined Cheddar's Jill Wagner to give more insight into the legal fallout of Travis Scott's deadly Astroworld festival, where at least eight people died and dozens more were injured.
The Biden Administration has issued a new order aimed at all federal agencies which would order them to patch hundreds of cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Chief Evangelist at Intrusion Gary Davis and Chief Security Advisor at SentinelOne Morgan Wright, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
