Featured Image Credit: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Topics: Academy Awards, Celebrity, Chris Rock, Oscars, US News, Will Smith
Tom Earnshaw
Topics: Academy Awards, Celebrity, Chris Rock, Oscars, US News, Will Smith
It's the most iconic Oscars moment of all time for all the wrong reasons, earning Will Smith a lengthy ban from the most prestigious awards night in the Hollywood calendar.
And he's not the only one to ever see himself barred from the A-lister event.
The Academy Awards comes around every year at the end of February in to March, honouring the best that the film industry has seen in the previous 12 months.
It's a night of celebrating performances that have captivated millions around the globe, through award categories such as Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress.
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But in 2022, the night turned sour. And quickly.
Legendary US comedian Chris Rock had been on stage to present the award for Best Documentary Feature.
It was during Rock's introductory remarks that he started to speak about Smith's long-term wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, while the couple were sat on the front row.
Addressing the auditorium and millions around the world, Rock said: "Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can't wait to see it."
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Rock had making a reference to Pinkett Smith's bald head - which she shaves due to alopecia - while referring to the buzz cut sported by Demi Moore in the original GI Jane film.
Smith laughed before getting out of his seat, jumping up on stage and smacking Rock across the face.
What followed next we all can all remember too vividly, with Smith shouting from the crowd to Rock: "Keep my wife's name out your f**king mouth."
Smith apologised, resigning from the Academy. One week later he was officially banned for a staggering 10 years. The board said: "The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards."
Here are a list of other celebrities banned from the Oscars:
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One of the leading men of the 1980s and 90s, Gere found himself banned by the Academy back in 1993.
And the length of the ban? Double what Smith is dealing with at an eye-watering 20 years.
The reason behind it came when he used his slot as an Oscars presenter in 1993 to turn the event into a political soapbox to criticise the Chinese government.
The 74-year-old is a long-term advocate for human rights in Tibet, supporting the Tibetan Independence Movement away from China. It's a position that sees him permanently banned from China itself by its government.
Pretty Woman star Gere spoke about the 'horrendous, horrendous human rights situation' facing Tibetan people.
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The ban is something Gere poked fun at in 2013.
Speaking to HuffPost UK, he said: "Apparently, I've been rehabilitated. It seems if you stay around long enough, they forget they've banned you."
The American comedian and actor was banned by the Academy after being convicted of sexual assault.
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Cosby's ban is for life, meaning he will never be allowed to return to any of its events.
He is no longer in prison after being released in 2021 when the conviction was vacated.
"The Board continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy's values of respect for human dignity," the Academy said in a statement following his conviction and subsequent ban.
During his acting career, Caridi was best known for his work in The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III, in which he played the roles of Carmine Rosato and Albert Volpe, respectively.
But Caridi was the first person to ever be expelled permanently by the Academy.
It was after he was accused of illegally circulating VHS tapes of upcoming movies to a friend of his. These were later found online.
Caridi - who was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing - had given around 60 films to his friend Russell Sprague who then alleged to have posted the films online. Sprague died of a suspected heart attack during legal proceedings so the case was never closed.
Despite his innocence in the case, Caridi was banned by the Academy in 2004 for violating his agreement to safeguard their screeners.
The disgraced director was expelled by the Academy in 2017 following sexual abuse allegations dating back decades.
Weinstein was eventually convicted and given 23 years behind bars, with the Academy saying his actions were 'repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the academy and the creative community it represents'.
Weinstein was sacked by his production company and also suspended by BAFTA.
He is currently serving the sentence at Wende Correctional Facility in New York.
Filmmaker Roman Polanski was expelled by the Academy back in May 2018.
It voted to expel him and Cosby at the same time, saying the board had 'voted to expel actor Bill Cosby and director Roman Polanski from its membership in accordance with the organisation's Standards of Conduct'.
Now 90, Polanski was expelled over charges of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in a criminal case dating back to 1977.
The director was charged in the United States over the allegation but before he could face the matter in court, Polanski fled the country in 1978. He's never returned to the United States since.
Polanski claimed the judge in the case planned to throw out the negotiated plea bargain and sentence him to a long prison sentence.
Attempts to extradite him back to the US have failed.