In the early 1950s, Richard Gere was blacklisted from Hollywood for his suspected communist sympathies. This meant that he was effectively barred from working in the film industry.
Gere's blacklisting came at a time when the US government was investigating alleged communist activity within the entertainment industry. Many actors, writers and directors were named as possible communist sympathizers and were subsequently blacklisted.
Gere has never confirmed whether or not he was a communist sympathizer, but it is thought that his name appeared on a list of potential communists compiled by the FBI. Regardless of his political beliefs, Gere's blacklisting meant that he missed out on some major Hollywood roles during the 1950s.