Bill Cosby Has Kennedy Center Honors, Mark Twain Award Revoked Following Sexual Assault Conviction

Less than a week after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts expelled Bill Cosby (and Roman Polanski) from its membership “in accordance with the organization’s Standards of Conduct,” Cosby continues to experience fallout from his recent sexual assault convictions. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has withdrawn two artistic achievement awards bestowed to him: the Kennedy Center Honors, awarded in 1998, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, in 2009.

A spokesperson offered the following statement, via Variety:

“The Honors and Mark Twain Prize are given to artists who, through their lifetime of work, have left an indelible impact on American culture. As a result of Mr. Cosby’s recent criminal conviction, the Board concluded that his actions have overshadowed the very career accomplishments these distinctions from the Kennedy Center intend to recognize.”

On April 27, Bill Cosby was found guilty on several counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, one of 60 women to accuse him of assault, coercion, drugging over the past several decades. Sentencing is scheduled to take place later this year.