Everyone who’s been banned from the Oscars by the Academy (and why)

However you may feel about the pageantry, the categories, or the voting system, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences always stands firm on business regarding those violating their code of conduct.

While revoking an Oscar is practically unheard of (the only instance dates back to 1969, when Young Americans briefly held the Best Documentary Feature title before it was disqualified over an eligibility technicality), the Academy has found other ways to reprimand Tinseltown’s wrongdoers. In the past two decades, suspensions and bans have increasingly become the go-to penalty, with Will Smith serving as the latest example — earning a 10-year exile for his notorious onstage slap at the 94th Academy Awards.

But Smith is hardly the first to face repercussions from the Academy. Here is everyone who has been shown the door.

Carmine Caridi

Carmine Caridi (1974’s The Godfather: Part II; NYPD Blue) has the ignominious distinction of being the first-ever member of the Academy to be expelled. He was booted in 2004 for pirating screeners intended only for members to view and use for awards voting purposes. After allowing the screeners to be leaked to the internet, Caridi was banned from the organization.

Harvey Weinstein

The producer, who many credit with permanently transforming the Oscar race with his mercenary campaigning, was expelled in 2017, shortly after a litany of sexual assault allegations against him came to light. The Academy condemned Harvey Weinstein, calling his actions “repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the academy and the creative community it represents.”

He still has his Oscar, which he received for producing Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love (1998). But it was Weinstein’s heinous actions that prompted the Academy to create a new code of conduct, which states that the Academy does not tolerate “people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates standards of decency.”

Bill Cosby

When Bill Cosby was convicted in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting basketball player Andrea Constand, the Academy expelled him from their ranks only a month later.

Roman Polanski

Roman Polanski was expelled from the Academy at the same time as Cosby under the new code of conduct, but many considered this a hollow gesture, considering his membership had continued for years despite the allegations of sexual assault against him.

In 1977, Polanski fled to France after pleading guilty to unlawful sex with a minor. Despite that, he’s still been nominated for Oscars multiple times (though Academy membership does not impact awards eligibility), even winning Best Director for The Pianist in 2003. Polanski has not been stripped of his award, despite the fact that he was unable to attend some ceremonies when he was nominated due to being wanted by U.S. authorities and thereby being unable to enter the country without facing legal action.

Adam Kimmel

Cinematographer Adam Kimmel (Lars and the Real Girl, Capote) was expelled from the Academy in 2021 for his history as a sex offender. When it emerged that Kimmel had been arrested twice for statutory assaults on minors, he was removed from Academy membership for violating their code of conduct.

Will Smith

In 2022, the Academy barred the year’s Best Actor winner Will Smith from attending its events or programs for a decade after he slapped Chris Rock on stage over an unscripted joke about his wife’s shaved head (she has alopecia).

“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” the Academy stated in its announcement of the ban. “This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers, and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”

In response, Smith issued a brief statement: “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”

Days before the ban, Smith — who also shouted expletives at the comedian — resigned from the Academy, forfeiting his ability to vote on nominees and winners in his acting branch. However, he remains eligible to be nominated and win Oscars in the future.