Harrison Ford Drops Out of Oscars 2025 Due to Shingles Diagnosis

Image credits: Emma McIntyre/WireImage

Harrison Ford, the iconic star of the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises, will no longer be presenting at the 2025 Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, due to a diagnosis of shingles. The 82-year-old actor is currently resting and doing okay after receiving the diagnosis on Friday. Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash, often appearing as a single stripe of blisters, and is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which is the same virus that causes chickenpox.

According to the Mayo Clinic, shingles is a non-life-threatening but incurable viral infection that can sometimes lead to complications like long-term nerve pain or even vision loss. The best way to protect against the disease is through vaccination, although it is unclear if Ford had been vaccinated against it. Ford had previously been announced as one of the presenters for the 2025 Oscars, alongside other notable stars such as Dave Bautista, Gal Gadot, Andrew Garfield, and Zoe Saldaña.

The 2025 Oscars will still feature a star-studded lineup of presenters, including Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Elle Fanning, Whoopi Goldberg, and Emma Stone, among others. The ceremony will be hosted by Conan O'Brien and will air on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and Hulu. Some of the other presenters who will be attending the event include:

• Cillian Murphy
• Da'Vine Joy Randolph
• Robert Downey Jr.
• Dave Bautista
• Gal Gadot
• Andrew Garfield
• Margaret Qualley
• Alba Rohrwacher
• Rachel Zegler
• Zoe Saldaña
• Miles Teller
• Miley Cyrus

Ford's exit from the Oscars comes after he had a viral moment at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last weekend, where he was seen eating a cracker while sitting at a table with his "Shrinking" co-stars. The audience began laughing as his co-star Jessica Williams was speaking live on camera, and Ford could be seen chewing behind her left shoulder, seemingly unaware at first that he was on camera. Ford was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor in 1986 for "Witness" and has had a long and illustrious career in Hollywood, with notable roles in films like Indiana Jones and Star Wars.

The Academy Awards are executive produced by showrunner Raj Kapoor, Katy Mullan, and Rob Pain, and will be directed by Hamish Hamilton. The ceremony will feature a range of performances and presentations, and will be available to stream on Hulu for the first time this year. With a talented lineup of presenters and performers, the 2025 Oscars are shaping up to be an exciting and memorable event, despite Ford's unfortunate exit due to his shingles diagnosis.