John Bailey, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is under investigation for sexual harassment. Variety reports that the Academy received three claims against Bailey on Wednesday and immediately began a probe.
The 75-year-old Bailey is a veteran cinematographer who worked on films such as In the Line of Fire, Silverado, Groundhog Day, and The Big Chill. He was elected president of the Academy last August, succeeding the outgoing Cheryl Boone Isaacs. Isaacs was praised for pushing the Academy towards diversity after the #OscarsSoWhite years, while Bailey’s short reign has been marked by a string of sexual misconduct allegations in the entertainment world.
(Read: A Running List of All the Dudes Accused of Sexual Misconduct Since Harvey Weinstein)
After the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke in October, it took the Academy 10 days to expel him from their ranks. In December, the Academy instituted a new code of conduct regarding its response to allegations of abuse, harassment, and discrimination. Under the new policy, the Membership and Administration Committee determines if any claims are credible before passing them to the full Board of Governors, who then decide on any disciplinary measures.
Presumably, this will be the same chain of events now facing Bailey. Should he be forced to end his four-year term early, veteran makeup artist and Academy vice president Lois Burwell would step in until elections are held again in July.
