Old tweets from comedian Kevin Hart have resurfaced — and as a result, he’ll no longer be hosting next year’s Academy Awards show after his gig was announced with much fanfare this week.
Many of the comedian’s now-deleted tweets from 2009 to 2011 featuring gay jokes gained traction Thursday.
This not only prompted him to delete them all — but to make an announcement regarding his Oscar-hosting gig next February via Twitter last night.
“I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s,” wrote Hart (shown above with Eniko Parrish, whom he married in 2016).
“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,” he continued.
I 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.
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018
He added, “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,” he also said.
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.
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018
One of the tweets that caused controversy — and which Hart deleted from 2011 — 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.”
Another from 2010 read, “Why does @wayne215 have so many pictures of me in his phone!!! What ru some type of FAT F** that takes pic of small black men all day?”
And in 2009, he tweeted at NBA star Dwyane Wade, “@dwadeofficial u should ask the question like this, how many ‘gay’ men sweat when they wear dress shirts because real men don’t lmao p.s. f**”.
The problematic tweets seem to capture the way Hart spoke of homosexuality during his comedy act around that time.
In his “Seriously Funny” 2010 comedy special, he claimed, “One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay.”
“Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic,” he said.
“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.”
Hart addressed this comment in particular during a Rolling Stone interview in 2015 when he said, “I’m thinking about what I did as a dad, did I do something wrong, and if I did, what was it?”
Although Hart did step down from hosting the Oscars, initially he refused to apologize for his past words. When his tweets resurfaced, he urged people to “stop being negative” and that he was not going to “let the craziness frustrate” him.
“Not that I’m not gonna love my son or think about him any differently,” he added. “The funny thing within that joke is that it’s me getting mad at my son because of my own insecurities — I panicked. It has nothing to do with him. It’s about me.”
Although Hart did step down from hosting the Oscars, initially he refused to apologize for his past words. When his tweets resurfaced, he urged people to “stop being negative” and that he was not going to “let the craziness frustrate” him.
“I’m almost 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve? I don’t know what to tell you,” he wrote. “I LOVE EVERYBODY.”
Had Hart been the Oscars host in February — surely he would have turned it into a left-wing political spectacle.
After all, he praised the controversial national anthem kneelers, went after “old white men” — and told Trump to “suck it” while on stage at the VMAs back in August.
Tom Joyce is a freelance writer from the South Shore of Massachusetts. He covers sports, pop culture, and politics and has contributed to The Federalist, Newsday, and other outlets.
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