Celebrities Who Had been Banned From the Oscars

Awards reveals are supposed to celebrate the biggest achievements in entertainment — however they’ve additionally grow to be the stage for a few of Hollywood’s most notorious controversies.

From surprising onstage moments to main scandals behind the scenes, a number of celebrities have discovered themselves at odds with the very establishments meant to honor them.

In some instances, the fallout has led to formal bans from main award ceremonies, including the Oscars.

Listed here are three stars who had been banned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Will Smith

Will Smith acquired probably the most high-profile bans in Oscars historical past following a surprising second on the 2022 Academy Awards.

Through the dwell broadcast, Chris Rock took the stage to current Greatest Documentary and joked about Smith’s spouse, Jada Pinkett Smith, referencing her shaved head: “Jada, I like ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya.”

Moments later, Smith walked onstage and slapped Rock throughout the face — a second that shocked the viewers and shortly went viral. After returning to his seat, Smith shouted for Rock to “preserve my spouse’s title out your f—ing mouth.”

READ MORE: The Absolute Worst Oscar Best Picture Winners

The Academy’s board of governors later reviewed the incident and introduced disciplinary motion. In April 2022, the group revealed Smith can be barred from attending any Academy events or programs, together with the Oscars, for 10 years.

In a press release, Smith mentioned he accepted the ruling, writing: “I settle for and respect the Academy’s choice.”

Harvey Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein was expelled from the Academy in 2017 after a number of allegations of sexual assault and misconduct surfaced.

The accusations grew to become public by investigative stories printed by The New York Occasions and The New Yorker — revelations that helped ignite the worldwide #MeToo motion.

Shortly after the reports were published, the Academy’s Board of Governors voted — “nicely in extra of the required two-thirds majority” — to take away Weinstein from the group.

In a press release on the time, the Academy mentioned the choice was meant to ship a message that the period of “willful ignorance and shameful complicity” surrounding sexual misconduct within the business was over.

Weinstein was later convicted of sexual assault in New York in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in jail. He acquired an extra 16-year sentence in Los Angeles in 2023 for related crimes.

Though a New York appeals court docket overturned his 2020 conviction in 2024, Weinstein stays imprisoned in California.

Invoice Cosby

Bill Cosby was expelled from the Academy in 2018 following his sexual assault conviction.

In April of that yr, the comic was discovered responsible of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple College worker Andrea Constand in 2004. Cosby was sentenced to 3 to 10 years in jail.

Lower than a month after the conviction, the Academy’s Board of Governors voted to take away him from its membership, citing its Requirements of Conduct and emphasizing the importance of respect for human dignity.

READ MORE: The 25 Best Movie Taglines of the Last 10 Years

The choice meant Cosby was now not a part of the group accountable for the Academy Awards and will now not take part in its actions.

Cosby’s conviction was overturned in June 2021 when the Pennsylvania Supreme Courtroom dominated {that a} earlier settlement with prosecutors had been violated, leading to his release from prison. The Academy has not reinstated his membership.