Exiled from the 2025 Oscars: Celebrities who were not allowed to attend the 97th Academy Awards – and why!

While the 97th Academy Awards promised a night full of glamour and some of the best-dressed celebrities lighting up the red carpet, not all faces were present. Behind the glittering allure of Hollywood’s biggest night, there are some familiar names who have been notably absent from the Academy Awards, either because they've been banned or simply disappeared from the scene. Here are those exiled from the prestigious event, and the reasons behind their absence are as scandalous as they are unforgettable.

Will Smith

Let’s start with the most talked-about Oscars moment in recent memory. Will Smith was banned from attending the Academy Awards and all Oscars-related events for 10 years after his infamous slap of Chris Rock during the 2022 ceremony. The shocking altercation occurred live on stage, following a joke made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. While many were left in disbelief, Smith still went on to win Best Actor later that evening for his performance in King Richard (2021). Despite staying in the venue to give his acceptance speech, the slap was a defining moment that led the Academy to impose a decade-long ban. Though he still enjoys a thriving career, the Oscars won’t be part of his immediate future.

Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski’s absence from the Oscars is tied to a dark chapter in Hollywood history. The legendary director, who won Best Director for The Pianist in 2003, was banned from the Academy in 2018. His expulsion came decades after he fled the United States to France after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977. In recent times, Polanski’s criminal actions have overshadowed his success, and many believed his ban should have come much earlier. Though he remains a celebrated filmmaker abroad, his presence at the Oscars is now a thing of the past, as the Academy continues to distance itself from his controversial legacy.

Bill Cosby

Once regarded as America’s Dad, Bill Cosby’s fall from grace is one of the most disturbing in entertainment history. In 2018, after being convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, Cosby was expelled from the Academy. The disgraced comedian’s allegations of assault from dozens of women span decades, making his ban a necessary move for the Academy. His presence at the Oscars was once synonymous with iconic moments of joy and laughter, but now, the shadow of his criminal behaviour looms over his past achievements, rendering him persona non grata at the Academy Awards.

Harvey Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein, once a powerful Hollywood mogul, saw his empire crumble under the weight of numerous sexual assault and harassment allegations. In 2017, the Academy moved swiftly to ban Weinstein from the Oscars, following his exposure as a serial predator; after the #MeToo movement exposed his years of abuse, the Academy made it clear that there was no place for him in Hollywood’s most prestigious event. Today, Weinstein is serving time in prison, a convicted sex offender whose association with the Oscars is nothing more than a dark memory.

Richard Gere

Richard Gere’s exclusion from the Oscars was for a very different reason, the result of his outspoken political activism. Back in 1993, while presenting an award at the Academy Awards, Gere took a stand against the Chinese government, denouncing the human rights abuses in Tibet. His passionate speech did not sit well with the Academy, and Gere was banned for 20 years. The ban, however, was not permanent. In 2013, Gere was invited back to the Oscars, acknowledging that time had healed the rift. “Apparently, I’ve been rehabilitated. It seems if you stay around long enough, they forget they’ve banned you,” he quipped in an interview.

The Academy’s actions serve as a reminder that even the brightest stars can fall, and while these figures may not be at the Oscars this year, their stories continue to be part of the Academy’s complicated legacy.