From Richard Gere to Harvey Weinstein: 5 celebrities who have been banned or expelled from the Oscars

Following the resignation of King Richard star Will Smith from the Oscars last week, the Academy has decided to ban the actor for a decade. The news of the actor being barred came around a week after he resigned from the Academy.

In an official statement, the Academy governors mentioned:

"The Board of Governors has decided, for a period of 10 years, from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards."

Smith has been banned from the Oscars for a decade for his actions at the 94th Academy Awards, but the 53-year-old actor is not the first celebrity to have been barred from the event.

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Here are 5 celebrity figures that have been barred from the Oscars by the Academy

5) Richard Gere

Richard Gere's action that got him banned from the Oscars is perhaps the most debatable one, unlike other celebrities on this list. In 1993, the actor went off-script while presenting the 'Best Art Direction' award. At the event, he spoke about Tibet being occupied by China.

While presenting, Gere referred to China's actions as a "horrendous, horrendous human rights situation." This caused a lifetime ban on the actor's movies in China, which in turn caused many complications in his career. At the time, Gere was also banned from the Oscars for around two decades.

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4) Carmine Caridi

Carmine Caridi (Image via Getty Images/Albert L. Ortega)

The late actor Carmine Caridi, who appeared in the last two installments of the Godfather series, was expelled from the Oscars in 2004. Caridi became the first person to have ever been ousted from the Academy.

At the time, it was revealed that the late actor's Oscar screeners of films ended up on the internet and were widely available as bootlegs. He reportedly made VCR copies of the screeners for his close family. At the time, Caridi was also fined $300,000 by a US district judge and was also instructed to pay the attorney fees of the two studios who had sued him.

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3) Harvey Weinstein

As known to most, the notorious Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of s*xual assault by numerous women in 2017. This caused the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to expel the infamous producer.

At the time, the Academy addressed the allegations against Weinstein and mentioned that his actions were "repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the academy and the creative community it represents."

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2) Roman Polanski

Perhaps one of the most controversial bans in Oscars history was that of Roman Polanski, as the Academy still nominated the filmmaker despite the allegations against him. While the director fled the US in 1977 to avoid further charges following his guilty plea to having s*xual relations with a minor, the Academy continued to nominate him.

In 2003, Polanski even won the 'Best Director' award for The Piano. The Academy finally expelled the controversial figure in 2018, following the expulsion of Bill Cosby.

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1) Bill Cosby

Cosby is arguably one of the most controversial actors in Hollywood, who was infamously acquitted in 2018 for drugging and s*xually assaulting multiple women. The former comedian and actor was soon expelled from the Academy following his conviction.

While Will Smith has only been banned for a decade, the actor may not return following the expiration of his ban. Unlike Gere, Smith's resignation from the Academy also complicates things for the actor, who is reportedly losing out on roles following his altercation with Chris Rock.