13 Prestigious Awards and Honors That Had to Be Yoinked Back

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13 Prestigious Awards and Honors That Had to Be Yoinked Back

If we’ve learned anything from this venture down this path of yoinked awards, it’s that you can basically do any number of violent or sexually deviant things before, during, and after your Oscar win, and the Academy will never yoink that little gold statue back. Woody Allen won an Oscar after his adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow first accused him of sexual abuse in 1992. Roman Polanski won his Oscar 26 years after he pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old. But, show your film a couple months early, and that thing is getting ripped out of your grubby little cheating mitts!

And sure, Will Smith is banned from attending the ceremony for 10 years, but they gave him that bad boy after the slap, and he’ll have it for life. There are plenty of other prestigious awards that can get snatched back right quick, so unless you’re specifically on the hunt for an Oscar, you better tread lightly. Emmys, Pulitzers, and Honorary Doctorates aren’t safe, and if you’ve been up to no good, don’t get too comfy in your precious Halls of Fames. For any number of scandalous reasons, these 13 prestigious awards and honors got yoinked right back! 

Just how “wild” is this wild wolf?

CRACKED PHOTOGRAPHY'S BIGGEST SCANDAL! Out of 43,135 photos, José Luis Rodriguez's photo of a rare Iberian wolf named him the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year. An investigation found that it wasn't a wild wolf, and he was stripped of the prestigious award and banned for life.

Peta Pixel 

The academy won’t take an Oscar back for violence or sexual misconduct. But a technicality… Give it back!!!

CRACKED THE ONE AND ONLY OSCAR TO EVER BE TAKEN BACK! Young Americans won the Oscar for Best Documentary in 1969, but the Academy revoked the award after finding out that the film had first been shown in October 1967, making it ineligible for the 1968-1969 awards season.

LA Times / Youtube 

Even Chicago is disowning Kanye.

CRACKED A PRESTIGIOUS ART SCHOOL SNATCHED BACK KANYE'S HONORARY DOCTORATE. In 2022, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago revoked his honorary doctorate, saying they Condemn and repudiate Kanye's anti-Black, antisemitic, racist, and dangerous statements.

WTTW 

It’s near-impossible to get your Grammy revoked, but they pulled it off.

CRACKED AWARDS GRAMMI AWARDS THE ONLY GRAMMY TO EVER BE REVOKED. Milli Vanilli won the Best New Artist Grammy in 1990, but the Recording Academy rescinded their award upon the discovery that they didn't actually sing on their releases.

AP News / Variety 

But would it have been revoked if they actually won?

CRACKED THE GODFATHER'S REVOKED OSCAR NOMINATION. In 1972, The Godfather earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Dramatic Score, but it was revoked once the Academy discovered composer Nino Rota used a piece that was actually written for an Italian film from 1958.

Variety / Fox 

Take note, Oscars!

CRACKED KEVIN SPACEY'S INTERNATIONAL EMMY FOUNDER AWARD. It was announced that Kevin Spacey would receive this global award in November of 2017, but it was revoked in October after Anthony Rapp's accusations were made public.

EW / Vox 

The least of Bill Cosby’s problems.

CRACKED THE MANY REVOCATIONS OF BILL COSBY. His Kennedy Center Honors and Mark Twain Prize have been rescinded. Не was also expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and his honorary degrees from Yale and Temple University were revoked.

EW  / Variety / TCM 

Maybe if he provided effective leadership without harassing women.

CRACKED ORK THE EXCELSIOR ANDREW CUOMO'S INTERNATIONAL EMMY FOUNDERS AWARD. In 2020, he earned the Award for effective communication and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, but after the state attorney general found he had sexually harassed at least 11 women, the Academy rescinded the award.

EW / NBC 

This one might actually sting little Vlady’s sports-loving heart.

CRACKED VLADIMIR PUTIN WAS STRIPPED OF THE OLYMPIC ORDER. Amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended a ban for Russian athletes, and withdrew Putin's Olympic Order - the highest award of the Olympic movement.

CNN / JPost 

Bob Hewitt got served.

CRACKED BOB HEWITT WAS KICKED OUT OF THE TENNIS HALL OF FAME. Hewitt won 15 Grand Slam titles, but he was expelled from the International Tennis Hall of Fame after his convictions for rape and sexual assault of girls he was coaching.

SJ / BBC 

Their career numbers are as trusted as Mafia accounting logs.

CRACKED UBS NO HALL OF FAME FOR THESE STEROID-ERA BASEBALL PLAYERS. The career stats of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa would otherwise make them HoF locks, but in 2022, the Baseball Writers' Association rejected them for a 10th and final time because of performance enhancing drugs.

Forbes / Britannica 

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