In 2004, Carmine Caridi was the first Academy member banned from the Oscars
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Five others, including Will Smith, Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein, have also been exiled
Smith's ban will expire in 2032
There are a few Hollywood names that won't be on the guest list when the98th annual Academy Awardstake place on March 15.
Six members of the entertainment industry remain banned from attending the prestigious event, includingWill SmithandBill Cosby.
AfterSmith's 10-year banwas announced in 2022, the Academy shared its existing Standards of Conduct, which outline the organization's ethical expectations for members.
The group emphasized that members should "act in a manner consistent with the good reputation of the Academy" and condemned "physical contact that is uninvited and, in the situation, inappropriate and unwelcome."
The Standards of Conduct also affirm that if a member is found to have violated the standards, the Academy "may take any disciplinary action ... up to and including suspension of membership or expulsion from membership."
Here's everything to know about the six celebrities who have been banned from the Oscars — and what they did to warrant the punishment.
Carmine Caridi
In 2004, the Academy expelled actorCarmine Caridiafter he wascaught lending movie screenerssent by distributors to Academy voters for Oscar consideration.
After becoming an Academy member in 1982, Caridi — who died in May 2019 at 85 years old — regularly received advance screeners from distributors. After a man named Russell Sprague repaired his broken VCR, Caridi agreed to lend him some screeners. This continued for some time as he began to send more through the mail.
"I would send them to him before I even looked at them," Caridi toldThe Hollywood Reporterin February 2017. "And then he would copy them and send them back."
The FBI eventually caught on and called Caridi in to their Los Angeles office, offering him immunity in exchange for identifying Sprague.
In February 2004, the Academy's board of governors voted to expel Caridi.
"They wrote me a letter," he recalled toThe Hollywood Reporter. "'You're finished.' "
Not only wasTheGodfatheractor banned, but he became the first Academy member to be expelled, perThe Hollywood Reporter.
Caridi told the outlet he did not blame the Academy because he knew he violated its rules.
Harvey Weinstein
After he was accused of sexual assault by more than 80 women in October 2017, film producerHarvey Weinsteinwaskicked out of the Academy.
Prior to his removal, the Academy condemned Weinstein's conduct as "repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the Academy and the creative community it represents."
The Board of Governors later met to discuss the allegations and "voted well in excess of the required two-thirds majority to immediately expel him from the Academy," per a statement released by the organization.
"We do so not simply to separate ourselves from someone who does not merit the respect of his colleagues but also to send a message that the era of willful ignorance and shameful complicity in sexually predatory behavior and workplace harassment in our industry is over," the statement continued. "What's at issue here is a deeply troubling problem that has no place in our society."
Weinstein became the second member to be expelled from the group. The producer wassentenced to 23 years in prisonin 2020 after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault. However, that sentence was overturned as the New York Court of Appeals ruled that the trial judge did not provide a fair trial, perThe Associated Press. In June 2025, Weinstein was found guilty of one count of a criminal sex act related to a 2006 crime against former TV production assistantMiriam Haleyas part of a split verdict.
Weinstein was also sentenced toan additional 16 yearsin February 2023 after beingfound guilty of raping a woman in Los Angeles. Weinstein is currently awaiting retrial in a third case involving a criminal sexual act he allegedly committed againstJessica Mannand is living in New York's maximum-security prison, Rikers Island.
Bill Cosby
TheAcademy expelled Cosbya month after his sexual assault conviction.
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In April 2018, the disgraced actor wasfound guilty of drugging and sexually assaultingformer Temple University employee Andrea Constand in January 2004, resulting in athree to 10-year prison sentence.
Just days later, the Academy met and voted to expel Cosby "in accordance with the organization's Standards of Conduct," it announced in a statement.
"The Board continues to encourage ethical standards that require members to uphold the Academy's values of respect for human dignity," the statement continued.
In June 2021, Cosby was released from prison after the Pennsylvania Supreme Courtoverturned his conviction.
Roman Polanski
DirectorRoman Polanskiwas expelled from the Academy alongside Cosby for his rape conviction.
TheOscar-winning filmmaker had pled guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse in 1977 after a 13-year-old girl accused him of giving her alcohol and part of a quaalude. As part of a plea bargain, he served 42 days in jail but fled the U.S. before completing his 90-day sentence, remaining a fugitive for decades.
In an October 2017 interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Polanski reflected on the case, saying, "As far as what I did: It's over. I pleaded guilty."
The director still lives in Europe where hecontinues to make movies.
Adam Kimmel
Cinematographer Adam Kimmel was expelled from the Academy in response to his history as a registered sex offender.
Kimmel joined the Academy in 2007 — several years after his crimes. But when it came to light via aVarietyexposéin November 2020 that he had been arrested and convicted for rape and assault of minors, the organization took action by removing him in March 2021.
In a statement to the outlet, the Academy wrote that their membership selection process is "based on an honor system that relies on the integrity of prospective members, their sponsors, and branch committee members to disclose any disqualifying information."
The organization added that it would review the situation "in accordance with its bylaws" and would "continue to examine its member selection process regularly to ensure that it accurately reflects Academy values."
Will Smith
Few moments in Oscar history have been as shocking as Smith slappingChris Rockonstage at the 2022 ceremony.
While Rock was introducing the award for Best Documentary, he aimed a joke at Smith's wife,Jada Pinkett Smith, saying, "Jada, I love ya.G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see ya." (At the time, Pinkett Smith was sporting a shaved head and hasbeen open about her struggles with alopecia.)
Moments later, Smith walked up to the stage andslapped Rock across the face. Rock seemed stunned and said, "Oh wow. Will Smith just smacked the s--- out of me."
Once Smith made it back to his seat, he yelled up to the stage, "Keep my wife's name out your f---ing mouth!"
Nearly two weeks later, the Academy's Board of Governorsbanned Smith from attending any Academy eventsor programs for the next 10 years, starting April 8, 2022. In a letter obtained by PEOPLE, Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson apologized for not "adequately address[ing] the situation" during the broadcast.
"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," they wrote.
The letter further explained that the banishment was "a step toward a larger goal of protecting the safety of our performers and guests, and restoring trust in the Academy."
TheKing Richardactorresponded in a statementobtained by PEOPLE, saying, "I accept and respect the Academy's decision."
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
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