Free Republic

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday evening that it was clearing its president, John Bailey, of any wrongdoing after an investigation into an allegation of sexual harassment against him. On March 13, the academy had received a claim that the 75-year-old veteran cinematographer, who was elected to lead the organization in August, had attempted to inappropriately touch a woman while riding in a transportation van on a movie set more than a decade ago. (Early reports had suggested there were multiple allegations against Bailey, but the academy noted that there was only one.) But after an...

John Bailey, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is under investigation for allegations of sexual harassment. The Academy received three harassment claims on Wednesday and immediately opened a probe, according to sources familiar with the situation. Bailey was elected president of the institution in August. If he were forced to step down, he would be temporarily replaced by Lois Burwell, a veteran makeup artist who is the Academy’s vice president, until the next election in July. Bailey’s tenure has been marked by a historic shift in the Academy’s approach to misconduct by its members. In...