Celebrities Barred From Award Shows

Award organizations do not hand out bans lightly. When they do, they usually publish a formal notice and spell out exactly what the penalty covers. This list focuses only on cases where an awards body or festival publicly announced a ban, expulsion, suspension, or specific no-attendance or no-performance restriction, and it includes the timing and scope of each decision.

Some actions are permanent while others were limited to a fixed period or a single edition of a show. Where a person faced sanctions from more than one organization, the coverage explains each body’s ruling and what it meant in practice, including whether nominations remained possible or whether the person was barred from ceremonies or official events.

Harvey Weinstein

In October 2017 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that its Board of Governors had voted to expel Harvey Weinstein, ending his Academy membership with immediate effect and barring him from Academy events including the Oscars. In the months that followed, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts first suspended and then terminated his membership, and the Producers Guild of America imposed a permanent expulsion that it characterized as a lifetime ban under its conduct policies.

Separately, the Television Academy’s Board of Governors voted in late 2017 to expel Weinstein for life, which barred him from all Television Academy activities and the Primetime Emmys. These actions did not retroactively strip past awards, but they ended his privileges to attend, vote, or participate across the affected academies.

Bill Cosby

In May 2018 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that its Board of Governors had voted to expel Bill Cosby under the organization’s standards of conduct. Expulsion removed his membership and barred him from Academy events, including the Oscars.

Around the same time the Television Academy removed Cosby’s name and likeness from its Hall of Fame displays and online materials. While that action was symbolic and not an awards-show ban on its own, the formal Academy expulsion is the operative ban that restricted his access to Academy gatherings.

Roman Polanski

In May 2018 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to expel Roman Polanski. The Academy’s decision ended his membership and barred his attendance at Academy functions, including the Oscars, while leaving film eligibility rules unchanged so that films could still be nominated without his presence.

Polanski challenged the expulsion in court and through internal appeals, but the Academy’s action remained in force. The expulsion concerned Academy membership and event access, not the status of prior Oscars such as those connected to ‘The Pianist’.

Will Smith

On April 8, 2022 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Will Smith was banned from attending any Academy events for 10 years, running from April 2022 through April 2032. The Academy specified that the ban covers in-person and virtual events, including future Oscar ceremonies.

The Academy clarified that the sanction did not affect his eligibility for future nominations or awards consideration. In other words he could still be nominated or win, but he cannot attend any Academy event during the ban window.

Carmine Caridi

In 2004 actor Carmine Caridi was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for violating rules governing awards screeners. The Academy stated that he had provided screeners that were later copied and distributed online, which breached membership obligations and prompted the expulsion.

The expulsion barred him from Academy events such as the Oscars and ended any Academy membership privileges. Caridi’s case was the first expulsion the Academy had carried out, and it established the modern precedent for loss of event access through expulsion.

Adam Kimmel

In March 2021 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expelled cinematographer Adam Kimmel following a conduct review. The Academy confirmed the expulsion and cited the organization’s standards of conduct as the basis for the action.

Expulsion removed Kimmel’s membership and barred him from Academy events, including the Oscars. The Academy’s statement focused on membership and conduct and did not alter eligibility rules for films to which he had historical credits.

Morgan Wallen

On February 3, 2021 the Academy of Country Music announced that Morgan Wallen was ineligible for the 56th ACM Awards, which removed him from consideration and participation at that year’s show. On May 21, 2021 the Country Music Association said he would be eligible only for categories recognizing collaborative work and that he would not be invited to the CMA Awards ceremony or related CMA events that year.

Other major shows took parallel actions in 2021. Dick Clark Productions announced that Wallen would not be included in the Billboard Music Awards broadcast in any capacity despite his finalist status, and the American Music Awards said he would not attend or be involved with that year’s show. These restrictions were tied to the 2021 cycle only, and producers later allowed his return.

Ye

In March 2022 the Recording Academy confirmed that Ye was barred from performing at that year’s Grammy Awards broadcast. The decision applied to the live telecast performance lineup and did not remove nominations or otherwise restrict attendance or eligibility.

The no-performance decision was specific to the 2022 ceremony. The Recording Academy kept its rules on nominations and credits in place, which meant projects on which Ye had qualifying credits could still receive nominations and awards.

Lars von Trier

In May 2011 the Cannes Film Festival declared Lars von Trier persona non grata following remarks at a press conference, and the festival said he would no longer be invited. The decision barred him from Cannes events and effectively excluded his films from the selection while the status remained in place.

In 2018 Cannes said the persona non grata status was lifted, which allowed his film to screen out of competition that year. The seven-year period therefore covered the 2011 through 2017 editions, during which he was not welcome at the festival’s official activities.

Noel Clarke

On April 29, 2021 BAFTA announced the immediate suspension of Noel Clarke’s BAFTA membership and the suspension of a recently conferred honorary award. The suspension barred him from BAFTA member activities and events while in effect, including ceremonies.

BAFTA’s leadership followed up with a detailed letter to members explaining the timeline. The organization’s statements made clear that suspension of membership covers access to BAFTA’s events and benefits, independent of any nominations processes tied to specific productions.

Sofiane Bennacer

On January 3, 2023 the Académie des César announced that any nominee under investigation for offenses carrying potential prison sentences, particularly sexual or sexist violence, would not be invited to the César ceremony or associated events. The Academy had already removed Sofiane Bennacer from the Revelations longlist the prior November after his indictment.

Under the 2023 rule he was not invited to attend that year’s César events, and the rule also barred having someone speak on behalf of any winner who was under such investigation. The policy was framed as a temporary measure for the 2023 edition while broader rules were being considered, and it directly controlled access to the ceremony.

Share your thoughts on how awards bodies should balance eligibility and access when conduct concerns arise in the comments.