ONLY Hollywood’s top entertainers are able to score an invite to the annual Academy Awards.
However, the Oscars committee made a previous decision to overlook Richard Gere.
GettyRichard Gere was temporarily prohibited from attending the Academy Awards after the 65th Oscars[/caption]
Why was Richard Gere banned from the Oscars?
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.
“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,” he concluded his impromptu speech.
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.
“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, Gere’s co-stars were nominated for their parts in the big-screen adaptation of Chicago.
The movie was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
GettyRichard Gere with Adele and Paul Epworth at the 2013 Oscars ceremony[/caption]
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.
