He also cannot set foot in China because of the same comments he hosted at the 1993 Academy Awards.
Richard Gere could not participate in the Oscars for two decades, despite being an award-winning actor whose credits include some of the best romantic comedies and successful Hollywood dramas of yesteryear, with ‘Pretty Woman’ and ‘American Gigolo’ among his milestones. With four Golden Globe nominations and a win for Best Actor for ‘Chicago’, it is surprising that Gere has never been nominated for an Oscar.
Activism and industry, yin and yang
The explanation may have to do with the fact that Gere was banned from the ceremony for 20 years. The expulsion of actors and filmmakers such as Carmine Caridi, Will Smith, Roman Polanski and Harvey Weinstein has very diverse reasons, but Gere’s expulsion occurred under unique circumstances. At the 65th Oscars in 1993, Gere was in charge of presenting the award for best artistic direction, which fell to Luciana Arrighi and Ian Whittaker for ‘Return to Howards End’.
During his speech, Gere went off script and began berating the Chinese government for its treatment of Tibetans and the Chinese people. Gere, a long-time adherent of Tibetan Buddhism, has been an open critic of China for years, but at the time the situation was very tense, and he said:
“Knowing the horrendous human rights situation in China and Tibet, I wonder if we could all send love, truth and sanity to Deng Xiaoping right now in Beijing, if perhaps he would withdraw his troops, get them out of Tibet and would allow these people to live again as free and independent people.
This speech earned Gere a ban from attending the Oscar ceremony for 20 years, as well as a lifetime ban from entering China. However, he was allowed to attend the 2003 ceremony, when ‘Chicago,’ in which Gere played lawyer Billy Flynn, was nominated for and won best picture. Also returned to the Academy Awards in 2013, the 85th Oscars, to feature the Best Song nominee’s performance and present Best Original Score and Best Original Song alongside her castmates Queen Latifah, Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Gere commented on her day:
“Apparently, I have been rehabilitated. It seems that if you stay long enough, they forget that they have banned you.”
In Espinof:
