Getty/Kevin Hart/InstagramKevin Hart has stepped down from hosting the 2019 Oscars ceremony as a number of insensitive and homophobic tweets made by the actor have surfaced.
Hart was announced as the host on Tuesday, December 4, but has decided to step down after some years-old tweets were flagged by people concerned about the academy’s choice of host.
When the 39-year-old was revealed as the host, he said it was ‘the opportunity of a lifetime for me as a comedian’, but has now had to step back from the awards ceremony.
Taking to Twitter, Hart wrote:
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.
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.
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
Benjamin Lee, an editor at The Guardian, first pointed out Hart’s forgotten tweets, writing ‘I wonder when Kevin Hart is gonna start deleting all his old tweets.’
Other deleted ones include, ‘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 fag’ and another criticises a fellow Twitter user for looking like a ‘gay bill board for AIDS.’
I wonder when Kevin Hart is gonna start deleting all his old tweets 🤔🤔🤔 pic.twitter.com/ZbYG6SI3Xm
— Benjamin Lee (@benfraserlee) December 5, 2018
In a number of new Instagram videos, Hart has addressed the issue and reiterated his apologies for his old tweets.
In one of the the videos, he says:
I just got a call from the Academy and that call basically said, ‘Kevin, apologise for your tweets of old or we’re going to have to move on and find another host.’ I’m talking about the tweets from 2009 and 2010.
I chose to pass on the apology. The reason why I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. I’ve addressed it. I’ve spoken on it. I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were.
I’ve said who I am now versus who I was then. I’ve done it. 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 place in my life.
Accompanying another video, he wrote:
You LIVE and YOU LEARN & YOU GROW & YOU MATURE. I live to Love…
I LOVE EVERYBODY
Hart had previously said hosting the Oscars was ‘a goal on my list for a long time’, according to BBC.
However, even before the comedian’s tweets surface, finding a host for the ceremony had already been problematic for the academy, with many people calling it ‘the least wanted job in Hollywood’.
The awards ceremony is set to take place in Los Angeles on February 24, 2019.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.