LONDON – The organization that awards the UK equivalent of the Oscars has suspended a celebrity actor and director weeks after receiving one of its main awards after 20 women accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment and bullying.
Producers, actresses and production assistants said actor Noel Clarke secretly filmed auditions where they were naked, fondled or forcibly kissed them, and sent unsolicited intimate pictures. The testimonies were detailed in an extensive synopsis that The Guardian published on Thursday evening.
The 45-year-old Clarke grew up in London and established himself in the 2000s as an actor on the television series “Doctor Who”. In Great Britain he is known as a filmmaker and performer for his trilogy “The Hood” about the life of teenagers in West London and for the TV police dramas “Bulletproof” and “Viewpoint”. His production company, Unstoppable Film & Television, has made more than 10 films and television shows.
According to The Guardian, Mr. Clarke denied all allegations made by his lawyers, with the exception of one episode in which he was accused of making inappropriate comments on a woman. He said he later apologized on the case.
A spokesman for artist management agency 42 M&P said it stopped representing Mr Clarke in April. Other efforts to contact Mr. Clarke and his agents were not immediately successful.
Sexual harassment allegations in the film industry have surfaced in recent years following revelations in the New York Times about Harvey Weinstein that touched the #MeToo movement. Mr Clarke is one of the first prominent actors to face such allegations in the UK.
In a statement to The Guardian, Mr. Clarke said: “In a 20 year career I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and have never filed a complaint against me.”
“If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespectful, I sincerely apologize,” said Mr. Clarke, denying any sexual misconduct or misconduct and dismissing the allegations as false.
The extent of the possible ramifications for Mr Clarke became clear on Friday when ITV television took the unusual step of saying in a statement that it would not air the finale of “Viewpoint,” a drama starring the actor, on its main channel Friday night because of the allegations against him.
Mr Clarke was recently awarded the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, commonly known as BAFTA, the Award for Great Britain’s Outstanding Contribution to Cinema at its annual ceremony earlier this month, despite being made aware of the allegations almost two weeks ago the ceremony.
BAFTA said in a statement Friday that it had received emails accusing him of sexual misconduct in the days following the announcement that Mr Clarke would receive the award.
The allegations, the organization said, were either anonymous accounts or second- or third-hand accounts through intermediaries, adding that they would have reacted differently if the statements had come directly from the prosecutors.
“Names, times, dates, productions or any other details were never given,” BAFTA said. “If the victims had been registered with The Guardian, the award would have been suspended immediately.”
BAFTA, which previously honored Mr. Clarke with the Rising Star Award in 2009, said in an earlier statement released shortly after the article was published that it would cancel his award and membership in the Academy “immediately and until further notice “suspended.
The Guardian report cited nearly two dozen women in the film industry who said they had suffered a range of ill-treatment, including unwanted physical contact, groping and forced kissing, and unwanted sexual behavior on the set, including eight on the nudes.
Norwegian film producer Synne Seltveit said Mr Clarke slapped her buttocks in 2015 and later sent an unwanted explicit sexual image. Actress Gina Powel said Mr Clarke exposed her in a car and later fondled her in an elevator in 2015 as well. Anna Avramenko, an assistant The film director said Mr Clarke kissed her violently on the set in 2008 and tried several times after the incident.
Helen Atherton, art director on “Brotherhood,” which is part of “The Hood” trilogy, said Mr. Clarke violated the norms for ethical filming of sex and nude scenes, including hiring a non-professional actress to do one Play scene in which intimate parts of their anatomy were visible.
In recent years, as television and film productions grapple with the effects of the #MeToo movement, “intimacy coordinators” have become more common on the set. Your job is to make sure that sex scenes do not endanger or exploit the performers. In recent British and Irish shows like “It’s a Sin” and “Normal People”, intimacy coordinators have been added to their crew.
On screen, the plots of some recent British hits like “Sex Education” and “I May Destroy You” have raised questions of sexual consent.
British actress and writer Michaela Coel, who created “I May Destroy You,” in which she plays a young Londoner investigating her own rape, said in a statement she supported the women who accused Mr. Clarke.
“Talking about these incidents takes a lot of effort because some people call them ‘gray areas’. However, they are far from gray, ”said Ms. Coel.
“These behaviors are unprofessional, violent, and can irreparably destroy a person’s perception of themselves, their place in the world, and their career.”
In his speech at the BAFTA Awards earlier this month, Black Mr Clarke dedicated his award to “the underrepresented person who sits at home believing they can do more.”
“This is especially for my young black boys and girls out there who never believed this could happen to them,” said Mr. Clarke.
He added, “Hopefully people will see that I’ve been trying to make changes in the industry.”
The British Academy has been repeatedly criticized for the lack of diversity in its nominee list and announced a number of changes to its nomination and award process over the past year.
For this year’s awards, BAFTA’s 6,700 voting members had to undergo unconscious bias training and watch each nominated film before they could cast their ballots for each category – an attempt to deter voters from focusing on the most hyped films.
In Friday’s statement, BAFTA said it had asked individuals to show their accounts and identify themselves.
“We very much regret that women have felt unable to give us the kind of firsthand testimony that has now appeared in The Guardian,” it said. “Had we received this, we would never have presented the award to Noel Clarke.”
