Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski have been expelled from the Oscars organisation, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

The film academy said its board had voted in accordance with its new standards of conduct after governors met on Tuesday.

The move comes after 80-year-old Cosby was convicted of sexual assault last week and 84-year-old Polanski admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in 1977.

Cosby's wife has since hit out at the media, prosecutors and his accuser after the TV star was convicted of drugging and molesting a woman, branding it "mob justice".

Polanski, who won an Oscar for best director in 2002 for The Pianist, remains a fugitive after fleeing the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor.


In October, Harvey Weinstein lost his membership of the organisation, which puts on the Oscars, over mounting accusations against him. He denies all allegations of wrongdoing.

Image: Harvey Weinstein has denied the allegations against him

Actor Carmine Caridi is the only other person thought to have been expelled from the Academy after his membership was revoked in 2004 for lending DVD screeners of films that ended up online.

In March, the president of the Oscars Academy hinted that more big names could face expulsion as a result of the sexual misconduct scandal that rocked Hollywood.

John Bailey, who took over as Academy president two months before the Weinstein scandal broke, told Sky News: "In terms of Polanski and other names that have come up, in reality, yes, some of these people have won Oscars.

"We will just have to see what happens as we move forward but we are putting in place the structure to deal with it."

Sex abuse scandal 'a watershed moment'

In a statement, the Academy said it "continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the academy's values of respect for human dignity".

The new code, adopted in December, states that the Academy is no place for "people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency".

Sky News US correspondent Greg Milam said: "Just as they were quick to take action in expelling Harvey Weinstein, the Academy has acted swiftly on removing Bill Cosby.

"For many people though, it is hard to understand how it has them taken 40 years to expel Roman Polanski when he was convicted of a sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl. He has even been honoured with an Oscar during those 40 years, an Oscar he will keep even now.

"That will continue to make people feel uneasy - but this does show that the Academy appears to be serious in its promise to tackle these issues and that the new procedures post-Weinstein are having an effect."