Richard Gere Reacts to His 20-Year Oscars Ban: Twice as Long as Will Smith's

Here is one of those Hollywood stories that sounds made up until you remember how weird awards politics can get: Will Smith got a 10-year Oscars timeout for the Chris Rock slap. Richard Gere? He says he got shut out for roughly 20 years over a human rights speech. No slap, just a mic and an opinion.

What Gere did (and why it blew up)

Gere, an outspoken supporter of the Dalai Lama, used his Oscars stage time in the mid-90s to call out China for its treatment of Tibet. The larger backdrop: an Amnesty International report in 1995 accused Chinese authorities of torturing Tibetan children for alleged political offenses and imprisoning monks and nuns engaged in peaceful protest without trial. From the podium, Gere singled out then-leader Deng Xiaoping by name, asked the room to send him love, truth, and sanity, and urged that Chinese troops leave Tibet so Tibetans could live freely and independently.

The crowd applauded. The Academy, according to Gere and subsequent reporting, did not. He says the result was a long freeze from the Oscars that didn’t melt until 2013.

"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... everyone is redeemable, and in the end, everyone has to be redeemed or none of us are."

Gere’s stance, then and now

Gere has never exactly walked this back. He follows the Dalai Lama’s teachings, and the history here matters to him: the Dalai Lama fled into exile in 1959 and has lived in India ever since. In a recent Variety chat, Gere basically said he still doesn’t take the Academy’s response personally. Back when he was finally invited back in 2013, he deadpanned to HuffPost UK that he’d apparently been rehabilitated — as in, stick around long enough and they forget they banned you.

Meanwhile: Smith’s 10-year ban, Gere’s 20-year chill

For context whiplash: Will Smith slapped Chris Rock over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith during the 2022 ceremony and got a flat 10-year ban from attending. Gere’s situation was different — speech, not violence — and, by his account, lasted about two decades before the Academy opened the door again.

The career part

All of this sat alongside a résumé that speaks for itself: American Gigolo, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear. Somehow, he’s still never been nominated for an Oscar.

Quick timeline

• 1959: The Dalai Lama goes into exile; he has lived in India ever since.
• Mid-90s: Amnesty International report (1995) details abuses in Tibet, including torture of children and detention of monks and nuns without trial.
• Mid-90s Oscars: Gere uses his time onstage to urge Deng Xiaoping to change course and calls for Chinese troops to leave Tibet; the room applauds, but Gere says the Academy effectively freezes him out afterward.
• 2013: Gere returns to the Oscars and jokes he’s been "rehabilitated."
• 2022: Will Smith is banned for 10 years after the onstage slap.
• Now: Gere tells Variety he still doesn’t take the long ban personally and stands by the human rights message.

So, was the ban fair?

Depends on where you land on politics from the podium. The odd part is the scale: a two-decade chill for a speech versus 10 years for a slap. Either way, Gere clearly isn’t losing sleep over it — and he’s still very much the guy who will speak up, consequences or not.