Kevin Hart Announced as Oscar Host....Stepped Down a Day Later

HughFreakingDillon

Kevin Hart was announced as host for the Oscars for 2019 on Wednesday. Then the social justice warriors scurried into action, unearthing 10 year old homophobic tweets he made, and the Academy told him to publicly apologize or be gone. He gave the Academy the middle finger. His reasoning? He had apologized for the person he used to be several times over the last several years, he has evolved as a human, and is no longer that person, and didn't feel he should have to apologize all over again. 

In one of the tweets from 2011, among some that have been deleted, the comedian-actor said, "Yo if my son comes home & try's 2 play with my daughters doll house I'm going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice 'stop that's gay'."

"I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's," Hart, who is currently performing in Sydney, Australia, announced late Sunday on Twitter. "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. I'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."

Hart announced on his official Instagram page that he would host the Academy Awards for the first time in the coming year.

"For years I have been asked if I would ever host the Oscars and my answer was always the same...I said that it would be the opportunity of a lifetime for me as a comedian and that it will happen when it's suppose to," he wrote when he announced the news on Tuesday.

In another Instagram post on Thursday, Hart said the Academy asked him to apologize or they would find another host. Hart said he chose not to issue the apology and step down instead, saying he did not want to contribute to "feeding the internet trolls."

"The reason why I passed is because I've addressed this several times," Hart said. "I'm not going to continue to go back and tap into the days of old when I've moved on and I'm in a completely different space in my life."

Chad Griffin, the head of an LGBT civil rights advocacy group called the Human Rights Campaign, responded to Hart on Twitter.

"You have a rare opportunity to take responsibility, teach people in this moment, & send a message to LGBTQ youth that they matter & deserve dignity & respect. You say you've grown. Show us. Make amends for hurtful things you've said & affirm LGBTQ people," Griffin said.

Thoughts?

RiotZact

joke

/jōk/

noun

1. 
   
   a thing that someone says to cause amusement or laughter, especially a story with a funny punchline.

Meltdown99

He is right.  How many times does he have to apologize? 

HughFreakingDillon

Meltdown99 said:

He is right.  How many times does he have to apologize? 

I agree. 

Meltdown99

I have never paid much attention to Hart, until this week I did not even know gay jokes were part of his routine.  I saw him defending himself, he seemed sincere when he said: "that's not who I am now"...

oftenreading

Ehhh, he's not that funny, and the column isn't that accurate. He regularly makes homophobic comments in his acts, based on the one and a half netflix specials I have watched, so it wasn't just one old tweet; there's recent stuff too, I believe, though I'm no expert on him. I turned off the second special because it just wasn't that good, not because I was offended by anything he said. 

Meltdown99

Like, I said, I've never seen his act, I'm just going by what's reported.  I find Chris offensive as well...but he seems to get a free pass.

HughFreakingDillon

oftenreading said:

Ehhh, he's not that funny, and the column isn't that accurate. He regularly makes homophobic comments in his acts, based on the one and a half netflix specials I have watched, so it wasn't just one old tweet; there's recent stuff too, I believe, though I'm no expert on him. I turned off the second special because it just wasn't that good, not because I was offended by anything he said. 

I don't think he's funny in the least. but I still agree with him. 

oftenreading

HughFreakingDillon said:

oftenreading said:

Ehhh, he's not that funny, and the column isn't that accurate. He regularly makes homophobic comments in his acts, based on the one and a half netflix specials I have watched, so it wasn't just one old tweet; there's recent stuff too, I believe, though I'm no expert on him. I turned off the second special because it just wasn't that good, not because I was offended by anything he said. 

I don't think he's funny in the least. but I still agree with him. 

What part do you agree with?

HesCalledDyer

Comedians make jokes about stereotypes.  Who knew?

Meltdown99

HesCalledDyer said:

Comedians make jokes about stereotypes.  Who knew?

That's true.  Just watch Russell Peters act.

my2hands

PC nazi's are almost as bad as Illinois nazi's

oftenreading

HesCalledDyer said:

Comedians make jokes about stereotypes.  Who knew?

But did he joke about stereotypes, or did he make stereotypical jokes? Sounds like the latter. 

mcgruff10

Kevin Hart cracks me up, this world is getting way too pc.  I read an article this morning that they want to get rid of rudolph the red nosed reindeer because it is an example of bullying.  Baby it is cold outside is being removed from radio stations because of the lyrics.  The wussification of the world continues.

I love what Hart said:  
Hart answered the outrage with a video Thursday, stating: “I swear, man, our world is becoming beyond crazy. And I’m not gonna let the craziness frustrate me or anger me, especially when I’ve worked hard to get to the mental space that I am at now. My team calls me. ‘Oh my god, Kevin. The world is upset by tweets you did years ago.’ My god. Guys – I’m almost 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you. If you wanna hold people in a position where they always have to justify or explain their past, then … I’m the wrong guy, man. I’m in a great place. A great, mature place, where all I do is spread positivity. If you’re not doing that, you’re not on my page.”
“The same energy that went into finding those old tweets could be the same energy put into finding the response to the questions that have been asked years after years after years,” said Hart in the video. “We feed into internet trolls, and we reward them. I’m not gonna do it, man. I’m gonna be me, and I’m gonna stand my ground. Regardless, Academy, I’m thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. If it goes away, no harm no foul.”  

HughFreakingDillon

oftenreading said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

oftenreading said:

Ehhh, he's not that funny, and the column isn't that accurate. He regularly makes homophobic comments in his acts, based on the one and a half netflix specials I have watched, so it wasn't just one old tweet; there's recent stuff too, I believe, though I'm no expert on him. I turned off the second special because it just wasn't that good, not because I was offended by anything he said. 

I don't think he's funny in the least. but I still agree with him. 

What part do you agree with?

if he apologized a bunch of times already, and hasn't done it since, then I don't see why he needs to keep apologizing. 

OnWis97

I don't know what he said, when he said it, how he apologized, or whether he's made similar jokes since.  So I don't have strong feelings about this whole thing.

I will say this, though, "it's comedy" is about the weakest defense for legitimate bigotry there is...I saw it a lot (by keyboard SJW-defeaters, of course) in defense of Michael Richards dropping N-bombs.

dignin

Kevin Hart is not funny.

Louis C.K. should host.

mcgruff10

HughFreakingDillon said:

oftenreading said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

oftenreading said:

Ehhh, he's not that funny, and the column isn't that accurate. He regularly makes homophobic comments in his acts, based on the one and a half netflix specials I have watched, so it wasn't just one old tweet; there's recent stuff too, I believe, though I'm no expert on him. I turned off the second special because it just wasn't that good, not because I was offended by anything he said. 

I don't think he's funny in the least. but I still agree with him. 

What part do you agree with?

if he apologized a bunch of times already, and hasn't done it since, then I don't see why he needs to keep apologizing. 

100% agree.

cincybearcat

HughFreakingDillon said:

Meltdown99 said:

He is right.  How many times does he have to apologize? 

I agree. 

Agree

pjhawks

OnWis97 said:

I don't know what he said, when he said it, how he apologized, or whether he's made similar jokes since.  So I don't have strong feelings about this whole thing.

I will say this, though, "it's comedy" is about the weakest defense for legitimate bigotry there is...I saw it a lot (by keyboard SJW-defeaters, of course) in defense of Michael Richards dropping N-bombs.

except Michael Richards dropping n-bombs was in reference to a heckler and not part of the act.

trolls are killing comedy

are you ok with rappers dropping the n-word in their music?

Spiritual_Chaos

HesCalledDyer said:

Comedians make jokes about stereotypes.  Who knew?

In what way is saying he wouldn't accept his son being gay "joking about stereotypes"?