Roman Polanski's wife declines AMPAS offer to join Academy

Press Trust of India  |  London 

Two months after the expulsion of her husband, Roman Polanski, French Seigner has declined the membership to (AMPAS).

According to BBC, the 52-year-old responded to the invitation in an open letter published in French newspaper du Dimanche.

"How can I ignore the fact that a few weeks ago the Academy expelled my husband, Roman Polanski, in an attempt to appease the zeitgeist - the very same Academy which in 2002 awarded him an for 'The Pianist'! A curious case of amnesia!" Seigner wrote in the column.

The of AMPAS had on May 1 voted to expel and Polanski, who have faced sexual harassment and rape charges for years, in accordance with their newly-commissioned Standards of Conduct.

Seigner was one of the 928 artistes invited by the Academy as a part of its bid to boost diversity.

"The Academy probably thinks I am enough of a spineless, social climbing that I would forget that I have been married for the past 29 years to one of the world's greatest directors," she said.

In the past, Polanski has admitted to having sex with a 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and pills in 1978 at Jack Nicholson's house.

He, then, fled the US to avoid jail and continues to be a fugitive in the country though he won a best director's for his Holocaust "The Pianist" in 2003.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sun, July 08 2018. 16:15 IST