Featuring JoJo Siwa, Will Smith, Miley Cyrus, and more.
When we think of awards show controversy, we often think of the live, televised moments. But sometimes, there can be a lot of behind-the-scenes drama as well — over the years, celebs have been left off the invite list, disinvited, and even banned from attending certain awards shows.
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First up are the celebs who the awards show forgot to invite:
1. Rachel Zegler shared that she was not invited to the 2022 Oscars, despite starring in West Side Story — which garnered seven nominations:
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She was eventually invited and presented — and joked about the oversight — at the Oscars alongside Jacob Elordi.
2. Despite having a popular song, “Wild Side” featuring Cardi B, Normani revealed on Twitter that the 2021 VMAs hadn’t “booked” her:
The issue was fixed, and Normani eventually performed the track at the show after fans rallied around the singer. “Obviously, I’m a human being, I feel things. I love to feel noticed and for my work to be validated, but it speaks for itself. It’s forcing me to validate myself. I’m talented. It has nothing to do with me. It’s just a decision that somebody else made, which was out of my control,” she told the radio station Q99.7.
Here are celebs who say they have been purposely excluded:
3. Janet Jackson said she was disinvited from attending the 2004 Grammys after her wardrobe malfunction at the 2004 Super Bowl:
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4. This week, JoJo Siwa called out Nickelodeon for not inviting her to the Kids’ Choice Awards, despite being nominated for Favorite Social Music Star:
5. Miley Cyrus shared a video of her smoking weed at the 2013 EMAs on Instagram with the caption “And we wonder why we don’t get invited to award shows anymore.”
Now, we’ll cover celebs who have been banned from awards shows:
7. Morgan Wallen was banned from the 2021 Billboard Music Awards after TMZ leaked a video of the singer using the n-word:
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8. And the same year, he was banned from the ACM Awards and the CMAs.
@ACMawards / Via Twitter: @ACMawards
9. Godfather II and III actor Carmine Caridi was the first person to be banned from the Oscars in 2004 after the FBI traced pirated copies of movie screeners circulating online back to him. He had received them by being a member of the Academy:
Walt Disney Television Photo Arc / ABC / Getty
10. Kanye West was banned from performing at the 2022 Grammys “due to what they deem to be concerning online behavior,” according to Kanye’s team.
Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
This behavior referred to him posting a screenshot of a Google search of Trevor Noah — who reported on the Kimye divorce — and a racial slur.
11. By vote, the board of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (aka the Oscars) expelled Bill Cosby in 2018 after he was accused of sexual misconduct by dozens of women:
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12. The board simultaneously expelled Roman Polanski, who pled guilty to unlawful sex with a minor in 1977.
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13. Harvey Weinstein was banned by the Oscars after dozens of women accused him of sexual misconduct:
Johannes Eisele / AFP via Getty Images
The Academy said Weinstein’s actions were “repugnant, abhorrent, and antithetical to the high standards of the Academy and the creative community it represents.”
14. And lastly, shortly after Cosby, Weinstein, and Polanski, The Academy banned cinematographer Adam Kimmell, who is a registered sex offender:
Patrick Mcmullan / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
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