Richard Gere's 20-Year Oscars Ban: Actor Reflects On Controversial Past

Richard Gere Reflects On Being Banned From The Oscars For 20 Years: "I Don't Mean Any Harm" Richard Gere at Berlin documentary premiere of Wisdom of HappinessChristian Behring/Future Image/Cover Images By  Jeff Dodge Published 6 minutes ago Jeff Dodge (he/him), a published author and graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena. Fun Fact: he’s been to every single Idol Live! Tour. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Movie star Richard Gere just opened up about his 20-year ban from the Oscars. Gere has starred in numerous movies over the years, including American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride. In 2003, he won a Golden Globe for his role in Chicago.

Ten years earlier, though, the actor attended the Oscars and spoke out on stage against China over its Tibet policies. The Academy ended up banning Gere for 20 years, though he actually showed up in 2003 since Chicago was nominated for multiple awards. Then he attended in 2013 as a presenter when the ban was lifted.

All these years later, Gere is now speaking out about his Oscars ban and revealing if he's angry over the situation. During an interview with Variety, he admitted that he didn't take the ban personally and doesn't think members of the Academy are "bad guys."

Gere didn't "mean anyone harm." His intention wasn't to cause anger and outrage. The whole point of his 1993 comments was to condemn "exclusion" and "human rights abuses."

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. I mean to harm anger. I mean to harm exclusion. I mean to harm human rights abuses, but I try to stay as close to where His Holiness comes from… that everyone is redeemable, and in the end, everyone has to be redeemed or none of us [are]. So in that sense, I don’t take it personally.

The Dalai Lama, who is the leader of Tibetan Buddhism, sometimes sends Gere congratulatory notes when he wins awards, but the actor hasn't actually talked about the Oscars scandal with the monk, despite the two being friends.

Gere tries to live his life with the same mindset that the Dalai Lama has, that "everyone is redeemable," which is why he let the Oscars ban and subsequent criticism roll off his back.

It never came up. They’ll tell him once in a while if I get an award or something and he sends a note, congratulating me, that he’s happy for me, But that’s about as close as it gets to actually talking about movies.

Speaking of the Dalai Lama, Gere executive-produced a new documentary called Wisdom of Happiness about the spiritual leader. The subject of the film has seen the documentary. According to Gere, the Dalai Lama didn't like seeing himself on screen, but he enjoyed footage of family and friends from his past.

He really didn’t have any interest in seeing himself at all. So she kind of skipped forward through that, but when there was this old footage where he was seeing his old friends and family and remembering — he was delighted going into his memory bank of his childhood, like we all would.

Gere hasn't let his award show controversy stop him from continuing to make movies and shows, but he's not the only celebrity or public figure who's been banned from the Oscars. Carmine Caridi, Bill Cosby, Roman Polanski, Harvey Weinstein and Adam Kimmel have all been expelled by the Academy over various crimes and allegations, including sexual assault in some cases.

People Banned From Oscars

Year

Richard Gere

1993

Carmine Caridi

2004

Bill Cosby

2018

Roman Polanski

2018

Harvey Weinstein

2017

Adam Kimmel

2021

Will Smith

2022

Most recently, Will Smith faced a 10-year ban after slapping Chris Rock on stage at the 2022 Oscars. The comedian was presenting one of the categories and made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, which led to Smith leaping out of his chair, walking up on stage and slapping Rock.

It was one of the most shocking moments in Oscars history and overshadowed Smith's Best Actor win later in the evening.

Gere's ban ended over a decade ago, but as he told Variety, it doesn't matter anymore because he was able to speak his mind and still continues creating movies and shows in the entertainment industry. After that scandal, he's now presenting a very fitting documentary about the Dalai Lama, which the actor hopes viewers will appreciate and take to heart.

Headshot of Richard Gere Follow Followed Richard Gere Birthdate August 31, 1949 Birthplace Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Notable Projects Pretty Woman, Hachi: A Dog's Tale, Primal Fear

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