Richard Gere makes rare comment about being banned from the Oscars for 20 years
NY Post
And the Oscar goes to…
In an interview with Variety published Dec. 3, Richard Gere spoke out about his feelings about his 20-year ban from the Academy Awards.
“I didn’t take it particularly personally,” the “Pretty Woman” actor, 76, said.
He added, “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. I mean to harm anger. I mean to harm exclusion. I mean to harm human rights abuses, but I try to stay as close to where His Holiness comes from,” he said, referring to the Dalai Lama, who he’s been friends with for 45 years.
The “An Officer and a Gentleman” star explained that he tries to embrace the Dalai Lama’s beliefs, “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.”
Gere’s 20 year ban from the Oscars began in 1993, when he was presenting at the ceremony and made off-script remarks to denounce China’s “Horrendous, horrendous human rights issue” in Tibet.
