Bizarre twist after Richard Gere’s 20-year Oscars ‘ban’
Just days after Richard Gere lifted the lid on the alleged brutal fallout of his controversial 1993 Oscars speech, new details have surfaced.
It is the ban that wasn’t — and a true Hollywood mystery.
Richard Gere was never actually persona non grata at the Oscars, multiple sources have told Page Six.
“Richard was never banned from the Oscars,” a Gere insider said. “In fact, they had frequently asked him to present in those intervening years, but he was often working or unavailable.”
A source connected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences further confirmed: “There was no ban.”
Last week, Variety published an interview with Gere, asking him about the alleged 20-year ban — which has been reported many times over the years, both as a ban from the show and from presenting.
“I didn’t take it particularly personally,” he said. “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 Pretty Woman star famously went off script while presenting at the 1993 Academy Awards, denouncing China’s policies in Tibet in front of millions of viewers and an A-list audience.
Although the Primal Fear star’s tangent was met with applause during the show, Oscars producer Gil Cates later slammed Gere’s speech as “arrogant” and vowed not to invite him back, the Los Angeles Times reported at the time.
Cates, who died in 2011, told the outlet that he disapproved of Gere’s move — as well as the speeches of presenters Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, who criticised the US government for holding HIV-positive Haitian refugees at Guantanamo Bay.
“[For] someone who I invite to present an award to use that time to postulate a personal political belief I think is not only outrageous, it’s distasteful and dishonest,” Cates said at the time. “I wouldn’t invite them to my home, and I won’t invite them to a future show.”
However, a Hollywood source told Page Six: “A producer speaking out is not the same as the academy making a diktat. Gil did not represent the academy.”
Gere, who is banned from China, attended the ceremony in 2003 when his movie Chicago was nominated for — and won — “Best Picture.”
“Richard returned to the Oscars in 2013 for a ‘Chicago’ reunion,” the academy source added. “And in 2012, the academy had him as a special guest for a public screening of ‘An Officer and a Gentleman.’”
Gere, who has never won an Academy Award, is currently promoting his film Wisdom of Happiness, which is all about the Dalai Lama, his close friend of 45 years, and is eligible to be a best documentary nominee at the 2026 Oscars in March.
Indeed, we’re told that a good number of academy members have been attending screenings of the film, on which Gere is an executive producer.
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The star lives with his wife Alejandra Silva between New York and Madrid and is not your typical Hollywood player, according to industry insiders.
However, he still remains popular in Tinseltown, one said.
This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.
