NOT ALLOWED GERE
Why was Richard Gere banned from the Oscars?
Actor Richard isn't the only A-List star to have been banned from the Academy Awards
EVERY year Hollywood's top dogs flock to the annual Academy Awards ceremony in LA.
However, the Oscars committee does have the right to ban people, and at one point this included actor Richard Gere.
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Why was Richard Gere banned from the Oscars?
Hollywood star Richard Gere was banned from the Oscars after he went off-script at the 1993 ceremony.
When the Pretty Woman actor temporarily ignored the teleprompter, he began to make a speech about the conflict between Tibet and China.
While presenting the award for Best Art Direction, Gere delivered remarks regarding the "horrendous, horrendous human rights situation" that was ensuing within China at the time.
He concluded his impromptu speech with: "If something miraculous and really kind of movie-like could happen here, where we could all send love, truth, and sanity to Deng Xiaoping right now in Beijing, that he would take all of his troops and take the Chinese away from Tibet and allow people to live as free independent people again."
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At the end of his surprise commentary, Gere resumed his duty as a presenter.
As a result of stalling the prompt he was given, the Academy banned Gere from their annual festivities for 20 years.
The organization denied they permitted Gere from attending future shows and told GQ: "We don’t ban presenters."
Meanwhile, Gere told the outlet: "Studios are interested in the possibility of making huge profits. But I’m still making the same films that I was making when I started.
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"Small, interesting, character-driven, and narrative-driven stories. It hasn’t impacted my life at all."
When was Richard Gere allowed back at the Oscars?
Although Gere was supposedly prohibited from attending the Oscars for 20 years, he was allowed to return for the 2003 ceremony.
At the 75th Academy Awards, his co-stars were nominated for their parts in the big-screen adaptation of Chicago.
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The movie was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Gere himself was not recognized for any accolades but his co-stars Renée Zellweger, Queen Latifah, and Catherine Zeta-Jones were.
"Apparently, I've been rehabilitated. It seems if you stay around long enough, they forget they've banned you," the actor shared with the Huffington Post of his appearance that year.
"I know everyone at this point. It's like going to the Golden Globes, we all know each other, it's like going to a big wedding family party, that's really what it is."
Since the 2003 Oscars, The Runaway Bride star has since presented a number of honors to his peers.
Who else has been banned from the Oscars?
Over the years The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science has created a list of people who are banned from attending the Oscars.
If someone is banned it is because they have violated the Academy's code of conduct for various reasons.
In a 2017 letter obtained by Variety, Academy CEO Dawn Hudson detailed the guidelines concerning violations and misconduct.
The letter read: "Academy membership is a privilege offered to only a select few within the global community of filmmakers."
"The Academy’s goal is not to be an investigative body, but rather ensure that when a grievance is made, it will go through a fair and methodical process."
"This process will determine whether a claim will be brought to the Board for possible action regarding membership status."
The latest person to be banned from the Oscars is Will Smith following "slap-gate".
The Fresh Prince star was reprimanded after he famously slapped Chris Rock live on stage during the 2022 ceremony.
The actor hit the comedian after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's alopecia.
Following his actions, it was then announced that Smith would be banned from the award show for 10 years.
Other people who have been banned included French Polish director Roman Polanski.
He was expelled from the Academy for life in 2018 after he had sexual intercourse with a minor.
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Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Shamed filmmaker Harvey Weinstein is also banned following his conviction for rape and sexual assault.