Harvey Weinstein has been stripped of his CBE following his conviction for rape and sexual assault earlier this year.
The disgraced producer, 68, is currently serving a 23-year jail sentence after being found guilty of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
More than 100 women, including famous actresses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman, had accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct stretching back decades – fuelling the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse and harassment.
Gwyneth Paltrow was among the actresses to accuse him of wrongdoing, pictured with Brad Pitt in 1996
Now, six months after the landmark trial, the Honours Forfeiture Committee have voted to strip him of his honour.
The announcement was published in The Gazette, the UK’s official public record.
The notice said: “The Queen has directed that the appointment of Harvey Weinstein to be an Honorary Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, dated 29 January 2004, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order.”
The Queen meets Weinstein at a reception in Buckingham Palace in 2014
The removal of honours – formally called “forfeiture”- is done when someone is judged to have brought the honours system into disrepute.
Numerous other distinctions bestowed on Weinstein during his career – including France’s prestigious Legion of Honour – have been revoked since allegations against Weinstein first surfaced.
The multi-Oscar winner, who was responsible for blockbusters including Pulp Fiction, The English Patient, Good Will Hunting, Gangs Of New York and Shakespeare In Love, was expelled from the Academy in 2017.
They had previously nominated his work for 341 awards, earning him 81 statuettes over the last 26 years.
The Order of the British Empire is his final award of note to be rescinded.
Weinstein was awarded the honorary CBE in 2004, for services to the British film industry. It was honorary as he is not a citizen of a Commonwealth country.
On receiving the honour, Weinstein said: “My life and my career have been greatly influenced and enriched by great British film-makers and authors and so I am especially honoured and humbled to be receiving the CBE.”
Weinstein pictured at the Oscars in 2017 – he was expelled from the Academy later that year
Senior Labour MP Chi Onwurah had been calling for the distinction to be removed since 2017.
CBE stands for Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire and is one step below a knighthood.
Set up in 1917 by King George V, the honours are spit into civilian and military divisions, the most senior of which make the recipient into a knight or dame.
Weinstein, who has consistently denied all charges, says he will appeal his convictions.
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A second criminal case – for which Weinstein also denies the charges – is pending in California.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has now started the extradition process for Weinstein to face five counts of sexual assault charges there.
If the request is approved, it could lead to a second high-profile trial.