John Bailey, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is reportedly under investigation by the Academy for alleged sexual harassment. According to Variety, the Academy received three complaints against Bailey on Wednesday of this week. No further information about the nature of the alleged claims has yet been made available.
The 75-year-old Bailey is an acclaimed cinematographer, and has been president of the Academy since August, when he was elected to serve a four-year term. During his short tenure, the Harvey Weinstein allegations and countless other accusations of sexual abuse and misconduct within the film and television industry have come to light. The revelations spurred the Academy to review its internal policies, and under Bailey’s direction, the organization developed a new internal procedure for handling allegations against its members. As a part of the new mandate, sufficiently substantiated allegations advance to the Academy’s top committee, the Board of Governors, for consideration. Bailey has been a member of the Board of Governors since the 1980s.
The new policy was instituted in December, two months after Weinstein became the second person ever to be expelled from the Academy. His expulsion caused debate within the Academy about how to respond to accusations against its members.
