The Academy defends Roman Polanski's expulsion; filmmaker's lawyer calls it 'a stupid PR stunt'

In a new court filing, the Academy of  Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defended its decision to expel Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski, saying that he was given the opportunity to submit information that would get him reinstated, according to The Wrap .

AMPAS lawyer John Quinn said that Polanski had “presented a ten-page letter from his lawyer advocating his position, over four hundred pages of supporting documents, a copy of a documentary titled Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, an email from his counsel, and a recorded video statement by Petitioner addressing the Board.” This material was presented to a Board of Governors for review, who on 26 January this year voted in favour of Polanski’s removal.

Harland Braun, the filmmaker’s lawyer, in a statement to Deadline called the Academy’s defense “a stupid PR stunt by them to look politically correct.”

In 2018, the Academy had booted Polanski along with comic Bill Cosby , as a result of the organisation’s Standards of Conduct enacted after the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal.

Polanski has admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and pills in 1978 at actor Jack Nicholson’s house. He fled the US to avoid jail and continues to be a fugitive in the country though he won a Best Director Oscar for his Holocaust film The Pianist in 2003.