Ali
Another day, another bunch of archived tweets comes back to haunt a celeb.
This time, it’s Kevin Hart who, in the space of a day, went from being the next host of the Academy Awards to pulling out of the job based on backlash to some tweets containing anti-gay sentiments which used homophobic terminology and slurs.
“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,” the “Jumanji” actor wrote.
Hart 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.”
Hart, currently touring Australia, had earlier posted an Instagram post in which he said the Academy gave him an ultimatum: Apologize for his old tweets or step down as Oscars host.
“I passed. The reason I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up,” he said. “Regardless, to the Academy, I’m thankful for the opportunity, if it goes away, no harm, no foul,” Hart added.
Weirdly enough, Hart ended up posting the apology anyway.
Earlier in the day, again on Instagram, Hart said : “I swear, man, our world is becoming beyond crazy. I’m not going to let the craziness frustrate me or anger me, especially when I worked hard to get to the mental space that I am at now.”
He continued, “My team calls me, ‘Oh, my God, Kevin, this world is upset about tweets you did years ago.’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 want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify or explain their past, then do you. I’m the wrong guy, man,” Hart says. “I’m in a great place, a great mature place, where all I do is spread positivity.”
A new host for the Oscars will no doubt be announced shortly.
