The Directors Guild of America Takes Formal Steps to Expel Harvey Weinstein
The Directors Guild of America has taken formal steps to remove Harvey Weinstein from its ranks. The group’s national board of directors met today, with DGA president Thomas Schlamme revealing that disciplinary charges had been filed against the disgraced executive on October 13.
The board released the following statement:
The DGA condemns sexual harassment. There must be no tolerance for such deplorable abuses of power. This isn’t about one person. We must recognize sexual harassment is endemic in our society, and painfully, in our industry.
We believe that every individual has the right to a safe workplace. The unfortunate truth is that there are those who abuse the power that they hold.
For far too long, many have not spoken out – directors, agents, crew, executives, performers, producers, writers. This shameful code of complicity must be broken.
As directors and team members who solve problems for a living, we are committed to eradicating the scourge of sexual harassment on our industry.
Schlamme commented further, saying that, “as a man in this industry, I have a responsibility to not just condemn the actions of others, but to look inside myself. I ask all of us to do the same.” He went on:
“Unless we recognize what has become so acceptable in our culture and how we possibly, even unconsciously, are participants, everything else will be meaningless. Changing culture is a long and difficult journey, but the first step towards that is acknowledgment. With that I am hopeful that this story will be different than the countless other stories that over the years have been ignored or dismissed. And with the hard work that needs to be done, we can finally be on a road to a better and safer future for all.”
Weinstein has been fired from the Weinstein Company and expelled from the Academy after being accused of sexual harassment, assault, and rape by dozens of women; the Producers Guild of America has also begun the process of terminating his membership.
