Cã©sar awards in france announced that they will ban anyone facing a potential prison sentence for sexual assault from their 2023 ceremony. this includes french actor sofiane bennacer, who is under investigation for allegations of rape which he denies. roman polanski, wanted in the us for statutory rape, won best director at the 2020 ceremony, leading to significant outcry.
when the cã©sar academy removed mr bennacer from the list of nominations in november 2020, they began considering a rule change around eligibility. this rule will apply to anyone being investigated for violent crimes punishable by imprisonment, especially those of a sexual nature, and will be in effect for the ceremony taking place on 25 february 2021. the academy will also vote on whether to make this a permanent change to their eligibility criteria.
the outcry from the 2020 ceremony was so great that the entire board resigned, leading to the consideration of this rule change. roman polanski has been wanted in the us for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl since the 1970s, and in 2019 former model valentine monnier accused him of raping her in 1975. a lawyer for mr polanski said he disputed the allegation “in the strongest terms”. the cã©sar awards are taking action to ensure that no one facing allegations of sexual assault can attend the ceremony, out of respect for any possible victims.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-64148844?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
