Bafta ‘spent two weeks deciding how to respond to claims against Noel Clarke’
Noel Clarke (Ian West/PA)
Bafta spent two weeks deciding how best to respond to allegations against actor Noel Clarke prior to presenting him with an award, it has been reported.
The Guardian said on Friday the film academy was made aware of allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and verbal abuse shortly after it announced its intention to honour Clarke with an award for outstanding British contribution to cinema.
It added that senior figures within the film academy were worried about the potential reputational damage to the organisation over its handling of the claims against Clarke.
Bafta reports itself to the Charity Commission after allegations against award-winning actor
The Guardian newspaper reports 20 women have spoken out about claims of sexual harassment by Noel Clarke, all of which he strongly denies
by Stephen Delahunty
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Noel Clarke denies allegations of sexual misconduct
UNDER FIRE: Noel Clarke
ENGLISH ACTOR, screenwriter, director and comic book writer Noel Clarke has refuted reported allegations of sexual misconduct.
Clarke says he intends to defend himself against the false allegations.
If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologise
Noel Clarke
In a statement, issued on his behalf by legal representative and shared with
The Guardian, Clarke said he’d ‘never had a complaint made against’ him in two decades of being in the business.
His vehement rebuttal comes just weeks after he was honoured at this year’s British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for his Outstanding British Contribution to cinema.
Last modified on Fri 30 Apr 2021 17.25 EDT
When Bafta announced its plan to give Noel Clarke the award for outstanding British contribution to cinema on 29 March 2021, the academy’s film committee chair, Marc Samuelson, described him as an “inspiration … [we] cannot think of a more deserving recipient for this year’s award”.
Others in Britain’s film industry disagreed. Within hours, Bafta was contacted jointly by three industry figures alerting it to the existence of several allegations of verbal abuse, bullying and sexual harassment against Clarke.
In a letter, they wrote they had each heard “first-hand” accounts of sexual misconduct and abuse of power against Clarke, a leading actor, director, screenwriter and producer. Information about other allegations followed, including two anonymous emails and information passed to a Bafta board member, via an intermediary, about an incident in which a woman alleged that Clarke had been threatening and abusive towards her a
Krishnendu Majumdar and chief executive
Amanda Berry told members, “To be very clear, we did not know about any allegations relating to Noel Clarke prior to the announcement of the OBCC award on 29 March.
“We want to reassure you that we have treated this matter with the utmost seriousness, care and proper process at every stage. The BAFTA Board of Trustees has remained right across this matter, has met a number of times and are fully supportive of all actions taken.”
“These were either anonymous or second or thirdhand accounts via intermediaries. No firsthand allegations were sent to us. No names, times, dates, productions or other details were ever provided,” reads the memo.