Hart quits as Oscars host because of anti-gay tweets
JUST two days after being named host of the Academy Awards, Kevin Hart stepped down yesterday following an outcry over homophobic tweets sent by the comedian several years ago.
Ending a swift and dramatic fallout, the American comedian posted on Twitter just after midnight yesterday that he was withdrawing as the Oscars host because he didn’t want to be a distraction. “I sincerely apologise to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past,” he wrote.
Hart stepped aside about an hour after refusing to apologise for tweets that resurfaced when he was announced as the Oscars host on Tuesday.
In a video on Instagram, Hart said the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences gave him an ultimatum: apologise or “we’re going to have to move on and find another host”.
“I chose to pass on the apology,” Hart said. “The reason why I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times.”
Hart has since deleted some of the anti-gay tweets, mostly dating from 2009-2011. But they had already been screen-captured and shared online.
In 2011, he wrote in a tweet, since deleted: “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’.”
In a post Thursday, Hart wrote that critics should “stop being negative” about his earlier anti-gay remarks.
“I’m almost 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve? I don’t know what to tell you,” said Hart, who added, in capital letters: “I love everybody.”
The comedian’s attitudes about homosexuality were also a well-known part of his stand-up act. In the 2010 special Seriously Funny he said: “One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay.
“Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, do what you want to do, but me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will,” he said.
Billy Eichner, a comedian and actor, said: “A simple, authentic apology showing any bit of understanding or remorse would have been so simple.”