Producers Guild doubles down on Harvey Weinstein expulsion: Disgraced mogul is banned for life

The Producers Guild of America has taken an unprecedented step to solidify its position on disgraced studio mogul Harvey Weinstein, announcing Monday that the organization’s board has voted unanimously to ban Weinstein from the guild for life.

“As was recently reported, the Producers Guild’s National Board of Directors voted unanimously to initiate proceedings to terminate the membership of Harvey Weinstein,” read a statement from the guild issued Monday. “The PGA Constitution requires that members be given 15 days’ notice before disciplinary action is taken. The Guild has received notice that rather than addressing the Guild’s charges, Mr. Weinstein elected to resign his membership in the Producers Guild.”

“In light of Mr. Weinstein’s widely reported behavior — with new reports continuing to surface even now — the Producers Guild’s National Board has voted unanimously to enact a lifetime ban on Mr. Weinstein, permanently barring him from PGA membership,” the statement continued. “This unprecedented step is a reflection of the seriousness with which the Guild regards the numerous reports of Mr. Weinstein’s decades of reprehensible conduct.”

The Guild’s National Board of Directors and Officers voted unanimously to expel Weinstein in an Oct. 16 meeting following high-profile allegations of sexual harassment and assault from dozens of women, including actresses Asia Argento, Rose McGowan and Gwyneth Paltrow.

At the same meeting, the PGA’s National Board — made up of 20 women and 18 men — voted to create a task force to research and address sexual harassment within the entertainment industry. While the membership ranks of Hollywood’s craft guilds reflect widespread gender imbalance across disciplines, 47% of the PGA’s 8,100 members are women.

A Los Angeles Times report comparing gender parity across guild organizations in Hollywood illuminates the stark juxtaposition of representation in the industry: In the Directors Guild, 23.4% of all members (including unit production managers, assistant directors and stage managers) are female and only 15.1% of its director members are women.

In its statement Monday, the PGA reiterated its commitment to forming a Hollywood task force to combat the kind of rampant harassment and abuse that the Weinstein scandal has forced to the fore: “Sexual harassment can no longer be tolerated in our industry or within the ranks of Producers Guild membership.”