Offbeat | Man banned from Nobel Literature banquet amid sex claims

The director of a Stockholm cultural center has been banned by the Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Literature Prize, from attending a Nobel banquet after several women made sexual misconduct allegations against the man.

Earlier this week, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter published allegations from 18 women claiming to have been assaulted or raped by the man, who has not been named. He has denied wrongdoing to the paper.

The alleged assaults occurred between 1996 to 2017, according to the newspaper, one of Sweden’s largest.

The allegations prompted the Academy to strike the man’s name from the guest list for the Dec. 10 Nobel Prize banquet, which follows the award ceremony earlier the same day.

British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro got this year’s literature prize.

The center where the man works has been financially supported by the Swedish Academy, and Academy members often attend events at the center including literary readings, academic lectures, dance and music.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the Academy said its annual funding of 126,000 kronor (USD15,150) to the center had been stopped immediately. The money had been paid to the institution since 2010 and the Academy stressed it had not been paid to him personally.

The institution said it would also look into its earlier ties with the man, including whether “he has had any influence — direct or indirect — on the Academy’s awarding of prizes, scholarships and other kinds of funding, as well as investigate whether or not he has influenced the Academy’s work in general.”

Since allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein started in October, multiple men in entertainment, media and politics in the U.S. and beyond have faced allegations ranging from inappropriate behavior to forced sexual misconduct to rape.

In recent weeks, Sweden has seen thousands of sexual misconduct allegations surfacing.