Summary
- The Oscars have banned famous figures like Richard Gere and Harvey Weinstein for various reasons throughout the years.
- Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski were expelled from the Academy for breaching the code of conduct and legal issues.
- Will Smith received a 10-year ban after slapping Chris Rock, causing controversy at the 2022 Oscars.
Warning: This article discusses sensitive topics, including child abuse and sexual assault.
The Oscars have hosted a lavish ceremony celebrating the best of the best in cinema every year, but some people were banned and asked not to return. The first Academy Awards happened in 1929, and since then, hundreds of performers, directors, producers, art directors, and even musicians have been honored for their work in the film industry. The year’s most anticipated event has boosted the popularity of many notable titles worldwide and made them some of the best movies of all time.
Throughout the year, audiences started to form theories about which movies would be big winners at the Academy Awards, and predictions for the 2025 Oscars began within weeks after the 2024 event ended. However, it has only been in recent years that the Academy has banned public figures from attending their events and casting their votes. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has only excluded a few key individuals over the years for various reasons, such as reports of illegal activity and controversial actions during an Oscar ceremony.
The Academy has both banned and expelled individuals. Bans were temporary, and the person could return after a certain period of time. An expulsion, however, was permanent, and that person would never be allowed to be involved with the Academy or its events again.
|
Relevant Person |
Year Banned |
|---|---|
|
Richard Gere |
1993 |
|
Carmine Caridi |
2004 |
|
Bill Cosby |
2018 |
|
Roman Polanski |
2018 |
|
Harvey Weinstein |
2017 |
|
Adam Kimmel |
2021 |
|
Will Smith |
2022 |
Related The Oscars’ Big New Rule Change Is Great News For Movies (Even If It’s Bad For Netflix)
The Academy’s new qualification rules for the 2025 Oscars affect which films can be nominated in specific categories, particularly for Best Picture.
7 Richard Gere
Banned For 20 Years In 1993
Close
Established actor Richard Gere, whose filmography has included titles such as An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, First Knight, and American Gigolo, was banned from the Academy in 1993. Gere was issued a 20-year ban after he gave a speech while he presented the award for Best Art Direction. As Gere addressed the audience, he used his platform to discuss the issues in Tibet and called out Deng Xiaoping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party at that time. Gere told viewers that Xiaping needed to “allow people to live as free, independent people again.”
Despite his talent, Gere has never received an Oscar nomination.
The Academy found his speech controversial, and Richard Gere was banned from presenting at the Oscars in future ceremonies for two decades. However, the actor still attended as a guest in 2003 alongside his Chicago co-stars. Chicago received an incredible 13 Oscar nominations and won five, which included Catherine Zeta-Jones for Best Supporting Actress and producer Martin Richards for Best Picture. Gere returned to the ceremony after his ban was lifted in 2013 to introduce the Best Song nominee “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” performance by Norah Jones from the Ted soundtrack.
|
Richard Gere Movie Title |
Academy Award Nominations |
|---|---|
|
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) |
Best Actress – Debra Winger Best Supporting Actor – Louis Gossett Jr. – Won Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen – Douglas Day Stewart Best Film Editing – Peter Zinner Best Original Score – Jack Nitzsche Best Original Song – “Up Where We Belong” – Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie (Music), and Will Jennings (Lyrics) – Won |
|
Chicago (2002) |
Best Picture – Martin Richards – Won Best Director – Rob Marshall Best Actress – Renée Zellweger Best Supporting Actor – John C. Reilly Best Supporting Actress – Queen Latifah Best Supporting Actress – Catherine Zeta-Jones – Won Best Adapted Screenplay – Bill Condon Best Art Direction – John Myhre (Art Direction) and Gordon Sim (Set Decoration) – Won Best Cinematography – Dion Beebe Best Costume Design – Colleen Atwood – Won Best Film Editing – Martin Walsh – Won Best Original Song – “I Move On” – John Kander (Music) and Fred Ebb (Lyrics) Best Sound – Michael Minkler, Dominick Tavella, and David Lee – Won |
6 Carmine Caridi
Expelled In 2004
Close
Carmine Caridi was the first person ever to be expelled from the Academy. The actor was best known as Carmine Rosato in The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III, although he also starred in more minor roles in movies such as 1978’s Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park and 1992’s Ruby. He also appeared as Dan Valenti in the TV show Phyllis from 1976 to 1977. Although Caridi did not receive an Academy Award nomination, he was an active Oscar voter. However, he only held this title for a short time.
An FBI investigation revealed that Caridi had shared unauthorized copies of several Oscar-nominated movies, including
The Last Samurai, Mystic River, Big Fish, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,
and
Something’s Gotta Give.
In January 2004, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that copies of multiple nominated titles were circulating illegally online. The Academy identified that a voter had leaked these films because of a defining watermark. An FBI investigation revealed that Caridi had shared unauthorized copies of several Oscar-nominated movies, including The Last Samurai, Mystic River, Big Fish, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and Something’s Gotta Give. According to the FBI’s findings, the actor had leaked screener versions of the films for nearly three years, which led to his expulsion.
Carmine Caridi passed away in May 2019 while in a coma.
|
Leaked Movie Titles |
Academy Award Nominations |
|---|---|
|
Something’s Gotta Give (2003) |
Best Actress – Diane Keaton as Erica Barry |
|
The Last Samurai (2003) |
Best Supporting Actor – Ken Watanabe Best Art Direction – Lilly Kilvert and Gretchen Rau Best Costume Design – Ngila Dickson Best Sound Mixing – Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, and Jeff Wexler |
|
Mystic River (2003) |
Best Picture – Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt, and Clint Eastwood Best Director – Clint Eastwood Best Actor – Sean Penn – Won Best Supporting Actor – Tim Robbins – Won Best Supporting Actress – Marcia Gay Harden Best Adapted Screenplay – Brian Helgeland |
|
Big Fish (2003) |
Best Original Score – Danny Elfman |
|
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) |
Best Picture – Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., Peter Weir, and Duncan Henderson Best Director – Peter Weir Best Art Direction – William Sandell (Art Direction) and Robert Gould (Set Decoration) Best Cinematography – Russell Boyd – Won Best Costume Design – Wendy Stites Best Film Editing – Lee Smith Best Makeup – Edouard Henriques III and Yolanda Toussieng Best Sound Editing – Richard King – Won Best Sound Mixing – Paul Massey, Doug Hemphill, and Art Rochester Best Visual Effects – Dan Sudick, Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness and Robert Stromberg |
5 Bill Cosby
Expelled In 2018
Close
1990s comedy icon Bill Cosby was one of two people expelled from the Academy in 2018. Cosby started as a stand-up comedian, and his character “Fat Albert” led to the animated TV show Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. He famously portrayed Cliff Huxtable in The Cosby Show, which was the staple of his career. Cosby also starred in the 1960s TV shows I Spy and The Bill Cosby Show. Although Bill Cosby wasn’t generally a movie actor and didn’t receive an Oscar nomination during his career, he was still an active member of the Actors Branch of the Academy.
Cosby’s alleged actions breached the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ code of conduct.
In 2018, several sexual assault allegations against Cosby came to light, which included a statement from comedy writer Joan Tarshis. Further reports of Cosby’s misconduct were made over the years, and some even came from ex-costars who were minors at the time. Cosby’s alleged actions breached the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ code of conduct. After the allegations against Bill Cosby became public knowledge, the organization permanently banned Cosby’s attendance or involvement with the Oscars. Although he faced repercussions for his crimes, including jail time, several of the sexual assault allegations fell outside of the statutes of limitations.
4 Roman Polanski
Expelled In 2018
Close
Polish Director Roman Polanski was officially expelled from the Academy in 2018, although he hadn’t attended the ceremony in the decades before this. In 1978, Polanski left the United States after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old child. Although he had learned that the judge would likely offer him a plea bargain, Polanski fled and exiled himself to Europe. In the years following these events, Polanski continued his career in Europe despite further allegations against him being made.
Polanski could not accept his award in person, so Harrison Ford accepted it and presented it to him five months later at the Deauville Film Festival in France.
During his career in the United States, Polanski received five Academy nominations but only won once – Best Director for The Pianist. Although reports about him were public knowledge, Polanski received a standing ovation at the 2003 Academy Awards. Polanski did not accept his Oscar in person, so Harrison Ford took it and presented it to him five months later at the Deauville Film Festival in France. Despite the allegations, Polanski received Oscar nominations for The Pianist and Tess after his exile but wasn’t expelled from the Academy until the organization reflected on his actions decades later.
|
Roman Polanski Movie Titles |
Academy Award Nominations |
|---|---|
|
Knife in the Water (1962) |
Best Foreign Language Film |
|
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) |
Best Adapted Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium – Roman Polanski Best Supporting Actress – Ruth Gordon – Won |
|
Chinatown (1974) |
Best Director – Roman Polanski Best Picture – Robert Evans Best Director – Roman Polanski Best Actor – Jack Nicholson Best Actress – Faye Dunaway Best Original Screenplay – Robert Towne – Won Best Art Direction – Richard Sylbert, W. Stewart Campbell (Art Direction), and Ruby R. Levitt (Set Decoration) Best Cinematography – John A. Alonzo Best Costume Design – Anthea Sylbert Best Film Editing – Sam O’Steen Best Original Dramatic Score – Jerry Goldsmith Best Sound – Charles Grenzbach and Larry Jost |
|
Tess (1979) |
Best Director – Roman Polanski Best Picture – Claude Berri Best Art Direction – Pierre Guffroy and Jack Stephens – Won Best Cinematography – Geoffrey Unsworth and Ghislain Cloquet – Won Best Costume Design – Anthony Powell – Won Best Original Score – Philippe Sarde |
|
The Pianist (2002) |
Best Picture – Robert Benmussa, Roman Polanski, and Alain Sarde Best Director – Roman Polanski – Won Best Actor – Adrien Brody – Won Best Adapted Screenplay – Ronald Harwood – Won Best Cinematography – Paweł Edelman Best Costume Design – Anna B. Sheppard Best Film Editing – Hervé de Luze |
3 Harvey Weinstein
Expelled In 2017
Close
In 2017, producer Harvey Weinstein was expelled from the Academy, dismissed from his production company, The Weinstein Company, and suspended from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts following several serious allegations made against him. Weinstein was one of Hollywood’s biggest names and influenced several areas of the film industry. Weinstein and his companies were behind huge cinematic titles like Pulp Fiction and Scream. As an individual, Weinstein only received two Oscar nominations: in 1999 for Best Picture for the film Shakespeare in Love, and again in 2003 for Gangs of New York.
Following the massive public response to these statements about Weinstein, the Academy issued the producer with a permanent expulsion.
However, Weinstein shared Shakespeare in Love’s win with several of his other co-producers. In 2017, The New York Times reported that dozens of women had accused Weinstein of various forms of sexual assault, including harassment and rape. Weinstein denied these allegations. Following the massive public response to these statements about Weinstein, the Academy issued the producer with a permanent expulsion. In February 2023, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the assaults in California. However, this didn’t include any other convictions Weinstein faced in New York and London, England.
|
Harvey Weinstein Movie Titles |
Academy Award Nominations |
|---|---|
|
Shakespeare in Love (1998) |
Best Picture – David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick, and Marc Norman – Won Best Director – John Madden Best Actress – Gwyneth Paltrow – Won Best Supporting Actor – Geoffrey Rush Best Supporting Actress – Judi Dench – Won Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard – Won Best Art Direction – Martin Childs and Jill Quertier – Won Best Cinematography – Richard Greatrex Best Costume Design – Sandy Powell – Won Best Film Editing – David Gamble Best Makeup – Lisa Westcott and Veronica Brebner Best Original Musical or Comedy Score – Stephen Warbeck – Won Best Sound – Robin O’Donoghue, Dominic Lester, and Peter Glossop |
|
Gangs of New York (2002) |
Best Picture – Alberto Grimaldi and Harvey Weinstein Best Director – Martin Scorsese Best Actor – Daniel Day-Lewis Best Original Screenplay – Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan Best Art Direction – Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo Best Cinematography – Michael Ballhaus Best Costume Design – Sandy Powell Best Film Editing – Thelma Schoonmaker Best Original Song – “The Hands That Built America” – Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Best Sound – Tom Fleischman, Eugene Gearty and Ivan Sharrock |
2 Adam Kimmel
Expelled In 2021
Close
Cinematographer Adam Kimmel’s filmography included movies like Never Let Me Go, Jesus’ Son, and Lars and the Real Girl. Despite his busy career, which began in 1987 with the music video for “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, Hollywood was unaware that Kimmel was a registered sex offender. Kimmel’s crimes happened before and after he joined the Academy’s cinematography branch in 2007, and reports against him ranged from 2003 to 2010. In 2020, Variety published an exposé about Kimmel, which contained allegations that stated Kimmel raped a minor multiple times in 2003.
In 2010, the same year that he worked on
Never Let Me Go,
he committed similar crimes on another minor.
Kimmel pleaded guilty in 2004 and was sentenced to 10 years of probation and listed on the sex offender registry. In 2010, the same year that he worked on Never Let Me Go, he allegedly committed similar crimes on another minor. He was arrested for fourth-degree sexual assault and failing to register as a sex offender in Connecticut. When i asked the organization why Kimmel was allowed to join in the first place, they replied that their membership was granted based on an “honor system.” In 2021, the Academy expelled Kimmel for his actions.
|
Relevant Adam Kimmel Movie Titles |
Release Date |
|---|---|
|
Jesus’ Son |
1999 |
|
Beyond Suspicion (also known as Auggie Rose) |
2000 |
|
Capote |
2005 |
|
Lars and the Real Girl |
2007 |
|
Never Let Me Go |
2010 |
1 Will Smith
Banned For 10 Years In 2022
Close
Will Smith famously went viral worldwide after slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. Smith attended the ceremony with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and the two sat together and waited to see whether he’d won the Best Actor award for his role as Richard Williams in the tennis biopic King Richard. This marked Smith’s third Oscar nomination, as he was previously nominated for his performances in 2001’s Ali and 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness.Although Smith won Best Actor for King Richard, Chris Rock’s G.I. Jane joke about Jada dampened the moment, and led to Smith slapping the comedian.
Smith resigned from the Academy and released a statement acknowledging his public attack on Rock, but accepted full responsibility.
The U.S. stream attempted to mute this moment, but the slap aired fully in other countries across the world. Smith tried to apologize during his acceptance speech and told audiences that “love will make you do crazy things.” Despite this, Smith resigned from the Academy and released a statement acknowledging his public attack on Rock, accepting full responsibility. The Academy confirmed that Smith was banned from all their events for ten years. Smith was due to present the Best Actress Award in 2023, but Halle Berry and Jessica Chastain replaced him. Smith cannot return to the Oscars until 2033.
|
Will Smith Movie Titles |
Academy Award Nominations |
|---|---|
|
Ali (2001) |
Best Actor – Will Smith Best Supporting Actor – Jon Voight |
|
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) |
Best Actor – Will Smith |
|
King Richard (2022) |
Best Picture – Tim White, Trevor White, and Will Smith Best Actor – Will Smith – Won Best Supporting Actress – Aunjanue Ellis Best Original Screenplay – Zach Baylin Best Film Editing – Pamela Martin Best Original Song – “Be Alive” – DIXSON and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter |
Could Will Smith See His Ban Lifted?
Close
Will Smith being banned from the Oscars for 10 years is a shocking outcome from one of the most controversial moments in Oscar history, but there is some question about how much the ban will be held up over the next two decades. While there are a lot of critics who have spoken out against Smith’s behavior at the Oscars, it would be ridiculous to suggest that he is in the same category as criminally convicted people like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby.
It is quite clear those people will never have a career in Hollywood again, even if they don’t end up serving long prison sentences. However, in the case of Smith, Hollywood has already begun to embrace him once again. There was some question about how the fallout of the infamous slap would affect Smith’s career, but the box office success of Bad Boys 4 helped establish Smith’s comeback. When more time passes and the incident fades a little more from memory, Smith could make a return to the Oscars before his ban ends.
It is likely Richard’s Gere case is the best one to look at in terms of what will happen with Smith’s ban. With Gere remaining a popular star in Hollywood even after the ban, it made sense that he was allowed to return to the ceremony even if he wasn’t invited to present an award. However, there are obvious differences between the two cases.
Gere’s ban was due to a political statement made while presenting, while Smith came on stage from the audience to physically assault a presenter. Time will tell how Smith’s Oscars ban plays out, but it seems unlikely it will be a decade before he is invited back.
The Oscars | Academy Awards
Location Dolby Theatre – Los Angeles, California Description The Academy Awards, AKA the Oscars, is a film awards show that honors excellence in filmmaking, acting, and various fields associated with making movies. The ceremony will be in its 95th year in 2023, with Jimmy Kimmel returning to host the event. The Oscars typically air around March and accept movies for nomination that were released between January 1st and December 31st of the year being honored. Expand