Richard Gere Kisses Shilpa Shetty

Gere-Shetty-kiss

In 2023, an Indian court finally cleared Richard Gere on obscenity charges 16 years after the infamous Shilpa Shetty kiss shown above. In 2007, Shetty and Gere attended an AIDS awareness event in Mumbai, where Gere kissed Shetty's cheek several times. Radical Hindus were infuriated, because kissing in public is considered by some in India to be taboo.

Indian-kiss-sculpture

In retrospect, Gere made a silly mistake, forgetting where he was. The same thing happened when former Spanish FA President Luis Rubiales was banned for three years from all football-related activities after kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips as she and other players received medals for winning the Women's World Cup in 2023. He said she had consented, but this was obviously untrue and Hermoso said as much.

Photo: Noemi Llamsa/Getty