In the light of recent events that occurred at the stage of the 94th Academy Award. A lot of news of Will Smith being banned from the Awards is going around. The incident of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock has overshadowed everything else that occurred that night. Though Chris Rock has not pressed any charges, the Academy has said that they would take the event under consideration. It is not sure yet what actions would be taken against the actor. But if he does end up getting banned by the Academy, he will join this shortlist of other celebrities. Check it out.
Carmine Caridi was banned by the Academy
The first time someone was banned by the Academy was in 2004. Carmine Caridi is the actor who played Carmine Rosato in Godfather Part II and Detective Vince Gotelli in NYPD Blue. He was expelled by the Academy on the subject of copyright infringement. The actor was caught by the Academy for bootleg internet copies of Oscar Screeners. Screeners are special DVDs only used by Academy members and critics. Although he was cleared of the charges against him, he was still expelled. Also, stayed expelled till his demise.
Harvey Weinstein was expelled by the Academy
In 2017, a number of allegations were sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein came to light. Within a month, the producer was expelled from the organization. According to NPR, before he was banned by the Academy, they also called his actions “repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the academy and the creative community it represents.” In fact, the voting count in favor of the producer’s expulsion exceeded the minimum requirement of two-thirds. This incident happened 13 years after the previous ban. Many popular actresses had spoken against him.
Bill Cosby got banned by the Academy
A year after the expulsion of Harvey Weinstein, similar allegations started coming to light about Bill Cosby. Over 60 women came forward to speak against the member of the Academy. He was also convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, an ex-basketball player, in 2004. He was expelled within a month just like Weinstein following the new rule made by the Academy after the latter’s expulsion. The rule says that the Academy would ban “people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency.”
Roman Polanski got expelled after the revolt
One of the biggest controversies around the Academy has to be about Roman Polanski. The director was a member of the Academy and had won several nominations and two awards even when he could not attend the award ceremony. The reason why he was missing from the award ceremony was that he had fled the country. Why? Because the directors had pleaded guilty in the case of having unlawful sex with a minor in 1977. To avoid imprisonment he fled to Paris. Even after that, the Academy kept nominating him and giving him awards for his works. Only after a lot of revolt and hate towards the Academy, did they ban him a while after banning Bill Cosby.
Adam Kimmel was expelled for assault
Another case of someone being banned by the Academy for assault is Adam Kimmel. The cinematographer of films like Lars and the Real Girl was arrested twice for assaults against minors. He had a history of being a sex offender. In 2003, he pled guilty to assaulting a girl when she was 15 and 16 years old. And again in 2010, he was involved in a fourth-degree assault on a minor. Based on his offenses, he was banned by the Academy based on the same rule as the other members.
Related: Oscar Winners Who Refused Their Award & Basically Told The Academy To P*ss Off
