Source: Instagram
Kevin Hart Steps Down From Hosting the Oscars After Old Homophobic Tweets Resurface
It's been an interestingweek for Kevin Hart.
On Tuesday, December 4th, Kevin Hart announcedthat he would be hosting the91st Oscars ceremony. By Thursday, December6th, just two days later, Hart revealedhe was dropping out of hosting duties.
How did we get here?
WATCH: Kevin Hart Embarrasses Himself On Live TV, Drops F-Bomb After Eagles Super Bowl Win
Hours after the initialannouncement, a bunch of old, homophobictweets started resurfacing on Twitter. GuardianeditorBenjamin Lee started posting homophobic comments and screenshots of the tweets on his account (the tweets were from 2009 to 2011:)
Kevin Hart started to delete the tweets. However, he didn't get rid ofall of them
On Thursday Hart respondedto the tweets. He was defiant; he didn't apologize. In the video, Hart said:
Guys, Im almost 40 years old. If you dont believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I dont know what to tell you. If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify or explain the past, then do you. Im the wrong guy, man. Im in a great place. A great mature place where all I do is spread positivity.
That responsewas received poorly on social media.
\u201cThis is not good. A simple, authentic apology showing any bit of understanding or remorse would have been so simple. Like I tweeted a few weeks ago, Hollywood still has a real problem with gay men. On the surface it may not look like it. Underneath, it\u2019s far more complicated.\u201d— billy eichner (@billy eichner) 1544142567
A couple of hours later Hart posted another video where he revealed that The Academy asked him to apologizefor the old tweets or they would have to find another host. Hart passed, saying that he's addressed his homophobicwords before, and didn't feel the need to do it again. (In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone he spoke about the joke about not wanting to have a gay son. Hart said he "wouldnt tell that joke today, because when I said it, the times werent as sensitive as they are now.)
Hours later, Hart dropped out of the Oscars. He also finally issued an apology:
\u201cI have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's....this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.\u201d— Kevin Hart (@Kevin Hart) 1544158879
\u201cI'm sorry that I hurt people.. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart. Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again.\u201d— Kevin Hart (@Kevin Hart) 1544158890