The “Pretty Woman” actor upset an individual TV producer who handled Oscars broadcasts, but was never reprimanded by the Academy itself, a source says.

Was Richard Gere really banned from the Oscars for 20 years? It’s complicated

The "Pretty Woman" actor upset an individual TV producer who handled Oscars broadcasts, but was never reprimanded by the Academy itself, a source says.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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December 9, 2025 6:57 p.m. ET

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Richard Gere at the 1993 Academy Awards. Credit:

KMazur/WireImage

- Richard Gere sparked controversy after advocating for Tibetan independence at the 1993 Academy Awards.

- The *American Gigolo* star previously said that he was "banned" from the Oscars.

- However, ** can confirm that the Academy never actually banned Gere, and that he was only reprimanded by an individual TV producer.

Richard Gere recently made headlines for discussing his ban from the Academy Awards. But was he actually blacklisted from the ceremony?

The answer is complicated. Gere generated controversy after making politically charged remarks at the 1993 Academy Awards, and didn't return to present at the Oscars stage for two decades. But the actor was never technically banned from the ceremony or formally reprimanded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

Here's everything we know about Ricard Gere's Oscars ban (or lack thereof).

What did Richard Gere say at the 1993 Oscars?

Richard Gere in Berlin on Oct. 24, 2025.

Tristar Media/Getty

While presenting the award for Best Art Direction during the 1993 Academy Awards, Gere deviated from the broadcast's approved script to advocate for Tibetan independence from China.

"I wonder if Deng Xiaoping is actually watching this right now, with his children and his grandchildren, and with the knowledge that what a horrendous, horrendous human rights situation there is in China," Gere said, calling out China's longtime leader. "Not only towards their own people, but to Tibet as well."

He continued, "If something miraculous and really kind of movie-like could happen here, where we could all kind of send love and truth, and a kind of sanity to Deng Xiaoping right now in Beijing that he will take his troops, and take the Chinese away from Tibet, and allow these people to live as free independent people again."

Was Richard Gere really banned from the Oscars?

Richard Gere, Renée Zellweger, and Catherine Zeta-Jones at the 2003 Academy Awards.

Anacleto Rapping/Los Angeles Times via Getty

Short answer: no.

Although Gere has alluded to being banned from the Academy Awards in interviews, ** can confirm that the Academy never banned the actor.

Additionally, a source familiar with the actor's position clarified to ** that Gere's comments at the 1993 Oscars merely upset one of the ceremony's TV broadcast producers, Gil Cates, rather than any actual representatives of the Academy itself.

The source also suggested that Cates did not wish to bring Gere back as a presenter on his subsequent broadcasts — and since Cates had a hand in at least 10 more Oscars broadcasts before his death in 2011, the *American Gigolo* star didn't return to present again for a number of years.

Gere attended the 2003 ceremony, where his film *Chicago* won Best Picture and his costar, Catherine Zeta-Jones, took home the trophy for Best Supporting Actress.

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What did the Academy say about Richard Gere’s comments?

Bob Rehme, who was the president of AMPAS from 1992 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2001, did not directly address Gere's comments, but made a broader disavowal of political statements from presenters at the 1993 ceremony, which also came from stars like Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins.

"The show’s about movies, about people’s work in movies, about entertainment," Rehme said at the time, per the *Los Angeles Times*. "It’s not supposed to be about political activities around the world (no matter) how much individually we might support any one of those causes."

What did the Oscars producer say about Gere’s comments?

Gil Cates, who produced 14 Academy Awards broadcasts between 1990 and 2008, said that Gere, Robbins, and Sarandon would not be welcome to present at more Oscars after the 1993 ceremony. "I wouldn’t invite them to my home, and I won’t invite them to a future show," he told the *Los Angeles Times*.

Cates said that he expected political digressions from nominees and winners, but not from the ceremony's presenters. "For a nominee to use his or her minute to say something is probably understandable," he said. "[But 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."

He also specifically called out the *Pretty Woman* actor: "Does anyone care about Richard Gere’s comments about China? It’s arrogant."

Cates also clarified that he didn't care about the particular positions of the outspoken presenters — he just took issue with their method of communicating their opinions. "I know these are people of good heart,” he said at the time. "I’m not questioning their politics and their good will, I’m questioning their taste and appropriateness."

When did Richard Gere return to the Oscars?

Richard Gere, Renée Zellweger, Queen Latifah, and Catherine Zeta-Jones at the 2013 Academy Awards.

ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty

Gere attended the 2003 Academy Awards to support his movie *Chicago*, which ultimately won the award for Best Picture. He did not return to present another award at a subsequent ceremony until a decade later, when he took the stage at the 2013 Oscars to present the awards for Best Original Song and Best Original Score alongside his *Chicago* castmates Queen Latifah, Renée Zellweger, and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

What has Richard Gere said about the Oscars?

Upon the announcement of his return to present at the 2013 Oscars, Gere told The Huffington Post, "Apparently, I've been rehabilitated. It seems if you stay around long enough, they forget they've banned you."

Gere also reflected on the incident in an interview with *Variety* last week. "I didn't take it particularly personally," the actor 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 *Oh, Canada* star noted that he wanted to keep his values aligned with the Dalai Lama. "I mean to harm anger. I mean to harm exclusion. I mean to harm human rights abuses," he said. "But I try to stay as close to where His Holiness comes from… that everyone is redeemable and in the end, everyone has to be redeemed or none of us [are]. So in that sense, I don't take it personally."**

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