CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush has stepped down as president of Australia’s screen industry academy after a theater company revealed it had received a complaint against the actor of “inappropriate behavior.”
Rush has denied any inappropriate behavior at the Sydney Theatre Company. Media reports say the allegation dated from Rush’s starring role in “King Lear” two years ago.
Rush announced Saturday that he was stepping down as president of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts ahead of the academy’s annual awards on Wednesday.
FILE – In this Feb. 11, 2017 file photo, Australian actor Geoffrey Rush poses with his ‘Berlinale Camera Award’ wich he received prior to the screening of the film ‘Final Portrait’ at the 2017 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany. The Sydney Theatre Company says it received a complaint of “inappropriate behavior” against Rush, an allegation lawyers for the Oscar winner denied. The company wasn’t disclosing details of the behavior alleged to have occurred while the 66-year-old Australian actor was an employee. Media reports say the allegation dated from the theater’s production of “King Lear,” about two years ago. His lawyers deny Rush was involved in inappropriate behavior. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
Rush says in a statement to The Associated Press he’s stepping down “effective immediately and until these issues have been resolved.”
ACCTA says in a statement it accepted and respected Rush’s decision to voluntarily step aside as president.
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