Richard Gere Kisses Shilpa Shetty

In 2023, an Indian court finally cleared Richard Gere on obscenity charges 16 years after the infamous Shilpa Shetty kisses 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. Shetty was cleared in 2022 - 15 years after the original kiss. “It seems that… Shilpa Shetty is the victim of alleged act of accused No. 1 (Richard Gere),” the court order said.

In retrospect, Gere made a stupid mistake, forgetting where he was and who he was and what impact this would have on Shetty. 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.