Queen Elizabeth II strips Harvey Weinstein of prestigious CBE title

The CBE title is considered to be one notch below knighthood and damehood.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has stripped jailed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of his honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) title, which he had received in 2014 for his contribution to the British film industry.

Weinstein, 68, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after being convicted of rape earlier this year.

“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 January 19, 2004, shall be cancelled and annulled and that his name shall be erased from the Register of the said Order,” a statement posted in the London Gazette, the country’s official public record, read.

As per the British government, though rarely, titles and honours can ben revoked if the holder brings the honours system “into disrepute”.  They are removed on the advice of a  forfeiture committee that considers the allegation and withdraws the honour with the approval of the Queen.

According to a report in The Guardian, Senior Labour MP Chi Onwurah first called for Weinstein’s CBE title to be removed in 2017, when several women came forward to accuse him of sexual misconduct and rape.

The CBE title is considered to be one notch below knighthood and damehood.

When he received the honour in 2004, Weinstein had 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.”

Earlier this year, Weinstein was convicted of third-degree rape of a former aspiring actress named Jessica Mann, as well as a count of a criminal sexual act in the first degree against Mimi Haley, who was working as a production assistant at the time of the incident.

He was expelled from a number of renowned film bodies such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, the Guardian reported.

Several British actors including Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Kate Winslet and Helena Bonham — Carter have previously been awarded the prestigious CBE title.

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