Roman Polanski, who was recently expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has called the #MeToo movement “total hypocrisy” and a “collective hysteria.”
According to the Associated Press, the Oscar-winning filmmaker made the comment to Newsweek Polska days before the Academy expelled him in accordance with the organization’s Standard of Conduct. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation who spoke with TheWrap, the board was motivated in part by the fact that both Cosby and Polanski had been convicted of sexually related crimes in U.S. courts.
The Newsweek interview published this week.
In the interview, Polanski said #MeToo is a “collective hysteria of the kind that sometimes happens in the society. Everyone is trying to sign up, chiefly out of fear.”
He added, “To me this is total hypocrisy.”
Polanski was expelled 15 years after his film “The Pianist” took home Oscars for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor at the 75th Academy Awards. The film was nominated for Best Picture, but lost to “Chicago.”
On Tuesday, Polanski’s attorney Harland Braun threatened legal action if the Academy “refuses to follow its own rules” in regards to the “illegal expulsion” of the filmmaker from the Academy.
Polanski was arrested and charged with raping 13-year-old Samantha Geimer in 1977. He pled guilty and was imprisoned for 42 days, after which he was released and put on probation as part of a plea bargain. When Polanski learned that a judge was planning to revoke the plea deal, the director fled Paris before the sentencing.