India, Dec. 4 -- Richard Gere is opening up on his 20-year ban from the Oscars. In 1993, the Pretty Woman star was barred from attending the prestigious award show after going off-script while presenting at the ceremony. At the time, he used the platform to denounce China's "horrendous, horrendous human rights issue" in Tibet. In an interview with Variety published Wednesday, the 76-year-old shared his feelings about the decades-long punishment he faced.

"I didn't take it particularly personally," Gere said of his Oscars ban. "I didn't think there were any bad guys in the situation. I do what I do and I certainly don't mean anyone any harm. I mean to harm anger. I mean to harm exclusion. I mean to harm human rights abuses, but I try to s...