All the Hollywood A-listers banned from the Oscars as the reality behind Richard Gere’s exile is revealed

It’s a night where all of Hollywood gathers under one roof to celebrate the most prestigious stars.

Many A-listers have been banned from attending and presenting The Oscars, after violating the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s strict code of conduct.

At the beginning of every March, celebrities congregate at The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

But stars including Will Smith and Richard Gere are among the celebs who won’t be receiving an invite to the academy awards in 2026 – and the many years after.

Will was famously added to the list following the infamous moment he slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face during the 2022 Oscars.

Pretty Woman star Richard was barred from presenting at the Academy Awards for almost two decades after he went rogue on live television during the 65th ceremony in 1993. 

The Daily Mail understands Richard was never banned from the ceremony and frequently asked to attend, but was not able to due to scheduling conflicts.

Will Smith 

During the 94th Academy Awards, Chris Rock was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary during the event at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood when he joked about Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. 

He compared her to the bald look of Demi Moore in the 1997 movie G.I. Jane. 

Jada, at the time, recently revealed that she was suffering from alopecia and did not laugh at the joke.

Will then approached the stage and slapped Chris hard across the face with his right hand.

‘Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me,’ Chris said from the stage after being hit.

Will returned to his seat next to his wife after the outburst and yelled: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth!’ 

On April 8 it was announced that Will was banned from the Oscars for 10 years for slapping Chris, but was allowed to keep his award for Best Actor.

Will said that he ‘accepted’ and ‘respected’ the academy’s decision to ban him both in person and virtually from the awards. 

Richard Gere

Richard spent decades shut out from the Oscars stage and now, he’s finally opening up about Hollywood’s quiet punishment. 

The actor had been invited to present Best Art Direction, but before he read the nominees, he abandoned the teleprompter and launched into a passionate plea over China‘s human rights abuses in Tibet.

With more than a billion viewers worldwide, Richard wondered aloud whether China’s then-leader Deng Xiaoping was watching and urged him to end oppression in Tibet. 

His unexpected remarks earned applause in the room, but left Academy officials furious.

At the time, then-AMPAS president Bob Rehme swiftly rebuked him, warning the show was supposed to be about entertainment, ‘not political activities around the world’.

Producer Gil Cates reportedly dismissed the speech entirely, saying, ‘Does anyone care about Richard Gere’s comments about China? It’s arrogant.’

The consequences were immediate as Richard vanished from the Oscars presenters list.

A source connected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences further also confirmed to Page Six: ‘There was no ban.’

For nearly 20 years, Richard, an outspoken supporter of Tibetan independence, was quietly kept away from the podium, even as his films earned Oscars and widespread acclaim.

He appeared in 2002’s Chicago, which dominated the awards season with a Best Picture win, yet he still wasn’t invited to speak onstage.

It wasn’t until 2013, almost two decades later, that Richard was permitted to present again when he joined his Chicago castmates to hand out awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song.

With a sly smile backstage, he joked to HuffPost UK: ‘Apparently, I’ve been rehabilitated. It seems if you stay around long enough, they forget they’ve banned you.’

More than three decades after the incident, Richard finally reflected on what really happened and how he felt about the unofficial blacklist.

In a new interview with Variety this month, he insisted he never held a grudge.

‘I didn’t take it particularly personally. I didn’t think there were any bad guys in the situation. I do what I do and I certainly don’t mean anyone any harm,’ the father-of-three said.

He added that, ultimately, his activism, rooted in his deep friendship with the Dalai Lama, has always guided him.

‘I mean to harm anger. I mean to harm exclusion. I mean to harm human rights abuses,’ Gere explained. ‘Everyone is redeemable… so in that sense, I don’t take it personally.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Gere’s representative for comment, but has not heard back, at this time. 

Harvey Weinstein 

Harvey Weinstein was banned from the academy in 2017 after his slew of sexual abuse allegations. 

He was later convicted for crimes that dated back decades and was sentenced to 23 years in jail at Wende Correctional Facility in New York. 

The once powerful media mogul, 73, was found guilty of rape and two other counts of sexual assault at a trial in Los Angeles in December 2023 after previously being sentenced in 2020 for sex crimes in New York City. 

In response, the Academy said that Harvey’s actions were ‘repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the academy and the creative community it represents’. 

He was also suspended by the British Academy Film Awards and dropped from his production company. 

Bill Cosby 

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby was barred from the awards ceremony for life in 2018 after he was convicted of sexual assault. 

Bill, 88, was convicted in April 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting basketball coach, Andrea Constand, in 2004. 

He was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison, but only served three years of his sentence before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction.

He was released on June 30, 2021 and was seen for the first time since his release out and about in New York City in April 2023. 

‘The Board continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity,’ the Academy said in a statement after his conviction and ban from the show. 

Adam Kimmel 

Cinematographer Adam Kimmel, 65, was banned from the Academy in 2021 for his history of sex crimes. 

After he was arrested twice for statutory assault on minors, he was blacklisted by the Academy for violating their code of conduct. 

Adam, who worked on hit films like Capote, Never Let Me Go and Beautiful Girls is a registered sex offender who pleaded guilty to raping a 15-year-old girl when he was 43 in 2003 before going on to have a budding Hollywood career. 

They had sex at least ten times in August 2003 in New York City. 

He pleaded guilty to rape the following year but still maintains the sex was consensual ‘with someone under the age of consent’. 

Roman Polanski 

French Polish director Roman Polanski was expelled from the Academy for life in 2018 after he had sexual intercourse with a minor. 

Roman fled the US in 1977 and made his way to France after pleading guilty to the crime. 

He received five Academy nominations and won Best Director for his biological Holocaust war drama, The Pianist, despite not physically being able to attend the ceremony as he was wanted by US authorities. 

Since his lifetime ban, Roman has not been nominated or allowed to attend the Oscars.  

Carmine Caridi 

Actor Carmine Caridi was the first person to be permanently banned by the Academy in 2004. 

The Godfather Part II and Part III star, who died in 2019 at 85, was expelled for illegally circulating approximately 60 VHS tapes of future movies to his friend Russell Sprague. 

The FBI investigated his crimes and he was slapped with an infringement lawsuit by Sony and Warner Bros.

Sprague posted copies of the films online but died during his legal proceedings of a heart attack.  

Carmine was eventually cleared of all wrongdoing but the Academy stood their ground and banned him for violating his agreement to safeguard their screeners.