2025 Oscars host Conan O’Brien‘s joke about learning Chinese caused some fans to wonder why actor Richard Gere was banned from the Academy Awards in 1993. In Touch takes a closer look at what he said to get barred from the Oscars and if the actor ever returned to the show.

Why Was Richard Gere Banned From the Academy Awards?

When presenting the Oscar for Best Art Direction at the 1993 ceremony, Richard went off script and noted that over one billion people were watching the telecast. He discussed what a “horrendous human rights situation there is in China.”

The longtime practicing Tibetan Buddhist asked to send “love and truth and a kind of sanity to Deng Xiaoping,” who was the leader of the People’s Republic of China at the time and begged him to remove Chinese troops from Tibet. The comments were deemed to be controversial at the time and he was banned from attending the Oscars following the incident.

Richard Gere Was Invited to Return to the Oscars

When Chicago was nominated for Best Picture in 2003, Richard was invited to attend the ceremony after playing the male lead, Billy Flynn. However, he passed on the event despite costar Catherine Zeta-Jones winning Best Supporting Actress for the film while Renée Zellweger was nominated for Best Actress.

When Did Richard Gere Return to the Academy Awards?

The Pretty Woman star returned for the 85th Oscars in 2013. He introduced “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” — a best song nominee — and presented the Oscar for Best Original Score and Best Original Song alongside his Chicago castmates Catherine, Renée and Queen Latifah.

Richard Gere Joked About His Academy Awards Ban

“Apparently, I’ve been rehabilitated. It seems if you stay around long enough, they forget they’ve banned you,” Richard told the Huffington Post ahead of appearing at the 2013 Oscars.

What Did Conan O’Brien Say About China at the 2025 Academy Awards?

Conan did a series of jokes about the languages he spoke. “For those of you watching from China,” he began before speaking Mandarin with a translation in English that appeared onscreen.

“I am in serious financial debt. Please consider using me in your many films. I beg you,” the “Conan Needs a Friend” podcast host stated.

Richard Gere Left the United States to Live in Spain

While the Maybe I Do star still has a productive acting career, he and his wife, Alejandra Silva, moved to Madrid, Spain, in 2024 after selling his Connecticut home.

Richard explained why they were relocating to Alejandra’s home country during a November 2024 appearance on The Tonight Show, adding that it was going to be a great place to raise their two young sons.

“My wife is Spanish, and she gave me about seven years here, and so we’re going to spend some years in Madrid,” he noted. “Our kids are bilingual, so they’re going to flourish there.”

“My wife, she grew up in a very big Spanish family, like a big Italian family,” he continued. “Her grandmother was kind of the glue that held that all together, and the grandmother passed away about a year and a half ago, two years ago,” Richard explained. “So, my wife, I can see her morphing into the new grandmother of this extended family. She’s already planning for, you know, 35 people for Sunday lunches.”