There's been plenty of unwanted off-screen drama for "Gary from Chicago" ever since he was abruptly introduced to the world at last year's Academy Awards.
The viral star _ whose full name is Gary Alan Coe _ delighted audiences after the Los Angeles tour bus he was on last February stopped at the Oscars, allowing him and other tourists to meet celebrities at the award show during a televised segment.
But days after the Oscars, Coe's criminal record began to garner attention from the media, much to his chagrin.
"It was horrible," Coe told The Hollywood Reporter. "I didn't ask to be put on the Oscars. I was minding my own business, walking down the street."
Coe had been released from prison only three days earlier after 20 years behind bars. He'd been sentenced as part of the three-strikes law in California, with one of his arrests for an alleged attempted rape.
The 60-year-old Coe was accompanied during that surprise trip to the Oscars by his then-fiancee. Denzel Washington, who was seated at the front of the audience, memorably pretended to officiate their wedding during the show.
But their engagement ended within a week of the award show, and their Oscars saga was a factor, along with the recent passing of his fiancee's twin brother, according to THR.
Coe, who is currently engaged to a different woman, says the media attempted to make his Oscar moment "something ugly."
"And how about the way it's come down? Look what happened to Harvey Weinstein!" he said. "Come to find out that the people up in really high places are the ones we should've been watching, and not some poor little black guy that's been locked away in prison for the last 20 years!"
Monday marked the one-year anniversary of Coe's appearance on the Oscars.
This year's Academy Awards take place Sunday, beginning at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
