Update (2:30 P.M.): The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—films governing body, which awards the Oscars—announced Thursday that it will expel Cosby, as well as Roman Polanski, from its membership. In a statement, the Academy revealed that its board members met Tuesday, and voted to expel the two men. The organization said it “continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academys values of respect for human dignity.”
Following last months guilty verdict in Bill Cosbys re-trial for sexual assault, the TV Academy has made some changes to its roster: the Academy has scrubbed the actors name from its Web site—and confirmed to Variety on Wednesday that a bust of Cosby that had been moved during construction on its North Hollywood campus would not be coming back anytime soon. The organization clarified, however, that it has not removed Cosby from its Television Hall of Fame; his name was removed from the online roster and nothing more. Cosby will also retain his four Emmy Awards, as the Academy has no current plans to rescind them.
Last week, some of Cosbys accusers ran weeping from the courtroom after the guilty verdict was revealed. The comedian now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each of the three counts—penetration with lack of consent, penetration while unconscious, and penetration after administering an intoxicant—brought by one of his accusers, Andrea Constand, who alleged he drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2004. In other words, Cosby might spend the rest of his life in prison. Meanwhile, the comedian faces additional civil suits that could lead to his financial ruin. Some 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, though not all of them are involved in civil or criminal cases.
Following Cosbys guilty verdict, a slow trickle of organizations have distanced themselves. Yale announced Wednesday that it would revoke the actors honorary degree—the first time the university has ever done so in its history. Cosbys alma mater, Temple University, did the same thing last week, rescinding Cosbys honorary doctorate alongside Yale and three other universities. And the Atlanta-based Bounce TV, one of the few networks that has continued to air Cosby Show reruns, has announced that it will no longer do so.
Though his upcoming sentencing is likely top of mind for the comedian, this weeks events show that his fall from grace is far from over.
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Westworld (Season 2)
HBO is once again hoping youll ignore the big Game of Thrones-shaped hole in its schedule and turn your attention back to the sci-fi mind game that is Westworld. The Emmy-nominated series, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton, is ready to confound you once again in its second season. Until its spring 2018 premiere, take a trip back in time and revisit nine burning questions we still have about the finale.Photo: By John P. Johnson/HBO.
Grown-ish
Yara Shahidi takes the lead in this youthful Black-ish spin-off set to air on Freeform starting Jan. 3, 2018. In this series, Zoey is finally off to college, stumbling through cringeworthy rites of passage like embarrassing herself at a frat party and hiding secrets from her parents.Photo: By Eric Liebowitz/Freeform.
Tis the season to watch a bunch of perfect human specimens fight for tiny gold medallions. This years Winter Olympics will kick off on Feb. 9, 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.Photo: By Julian Finney/Getty Images.
The Chi
After breaking out on Master of None and winning a historic Emmy for one of this years best TV episodes, Lena Waithe is ready to claim her spot in the prestige-TV realm. Enter The Chi, her Showtime series about young people coming of age in Chicago, set to premiere on Jan. 7.Photo: By Matt Dinerstein/SHOWTIME.
A Wrinkle in Time
The classic Madeleine LEngle tale is finally coming to the big screen on March 9, 2018, thanks to Disney and director Ava DuVernay. The sci-fi story about a girl tesseracting her way through time to find her missing father will star newcomer Storm Reid alongside stars like Oprah Winfrey,Mindy Kaling,Reese Witherspoon, and Chris Pine.Photo: By Atsushi Nishijima/Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
After some catastrophic ups and downs, Han Solos origin story will finally be revealed to us on May 25, 2018. The Star Wars spin-off stars Alden Ehrenreich as the galactic smuggler and also features Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian and Emilia Clarke playing a mysterious character named Kira.Photo: From Lucasfilm Ltd./Everett Collection.PreviousNext
Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.