Geoffrey Rush steps down as AACTA president ahead of awards on Wednesday
Australian actor Geoffrey Rush has voluntarily left his post as the president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) ahead of the industry body’s awards on Wednesday.
The news comes after allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” during Rush’s time with the Sydney Theatre Company (STC).
The Oscar winner has been involved in various STC productions over the years, however his most recent engagement with the company was between November 2015 and January 2016 during Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Rush denied the allegations, initially saying he had not been informed of the nature of the complaint.
The Daily Telegraph has since revealed the allegations include the inappropriate touching of a female actor.
Geoffrey Rush steps down as president of Australia’s screen industry academy after @dailytelegraph entertainment editor @jmoconfidential revealed complaint about his alleged inappropriate touching of a female actor https://t.co/2nf5c6yHTp
— Sharri Markson (@SharriMarkson) 2 December 2017
News Corp’s The Daily Telegraph originally revealed the allegations against Rush on their front page on Thursday 30 November. The original digital article – Geoffrey Rush accused of inappropriate behaviour – appears to have been removed.
The message which meets readers if they click on the original Daily Telegraph article revealing the allegations against Rush
The article is now headed ‘Geoffrey Rush denies accusations of inappropriate behaviour’ and remains online behind The Daily Telegraph’s paywall.
Today’s @dailytelegraph front page pic.twitter.com/7j97NCkFTY
— Jonathon Moran (@jmoconfidential) 29 November 2017
It is understood Rush will no longer be involved in the AACTA Awards in Sydney on Wednesday evening and won’t attend the ceremony.
The full statement from AACTA:
AACTA acknowledges the decision today of Geoffrey Rush to voluntarily step aside as President of AACTA and accepts and respects his decision to do so.
We have been deeply concerned about the situation and support a course of action that both respects Geoffrey’s rights to the presumption of innocence and due process, but also acknowledges good corporate governance in these circumstances.
We will not be making any further comment at this time.
The journalism at Mumbrella is progressively getting worse as the weeks roll on.
Vivienne Kelly writes “Originally, Rush has denied the allegations, and said he had not been informed of the nature of the complaint.” which implies to the reader that he later changed his stance and now accepts the allegations as being true when in fact, the opposite is true and he still vehemently denying the claims.
User ID not verified.
Hi Danny,
We have certainly upset you today, haven’t we?
Apologies for the clunky wording there. Rush originally stated he was not aware of the nature of the complaint. Given it has since been revealed by News Corp, he would now be aware of the complaint.
I have tidied up the wording for clarity. Apologies for causing you so much distress today and I hope your week improves.
Vivienne – Mumbrella