Kevin Hart says he deserves ‘a chance to move on’ after homophobic joke backlash
Kevin Hart attends the FX Networks’ Star Walk Winter Press Tour 2020 at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 09, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (Gregg DeGuire/WireImage)
Comedian Kevin Hart, who stepped down from hosting the Oscars in 2019 after backlash over his homophobic jokes, has said he deserves “a chance to move on”.
Last year, following an announcement that he would host the 2019 Oscars, it emerged that Hart had called gay people “fags” and mocked lesbians in a series of social media posts posted between 2009 and 2012.
He also previously came under fire for anti-gay comments he made during his 2010 Seriously tour, during which he said: “One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear.”
The comedian quit as the host of the 2019 Academy Awards, which took place in February, after organisers asked him to issue an apology for his historical anti-gay material. He then opted to publicly resign.
He wrote on Twitter at the time: “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 artist.
“I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”
Kevin Hart said he deserves to be forgiven for homophobic jokes.
Now, Kevin Hart, 40, has spoken out against being cancelled for his homophobic jokes, insisting that “nobody is perfect”.
According to RTÉ, during an Instagram Live chat with O, The Oprah Magazine, Hart said: “You gotta get to a point where you become more realistic.
”What I mean about being realistic is: nobody’s perfect, nobody’s going to be.
“We’re living in a time where we’re just expecting perfect, as if people don’t slip and fall down the steps, or everybody walks straight all the time.
”But you stumble … it’s weird to really hold people at a level that they never asked to be held at.”
He also insisted: “You can’t hold me accountable for things that I did as a kid that were childish behaviour.”
Hart was 30 years old when he said one of his “biggest fears” was having a gay son.
He added: “You know what, whatever has happened, has happened, but people deserve a chance to move on.”
Despite insisting that he wants “a chance to move on”, less than six months ago Hart raked up the Oscars drama yet again in a Netflix documentary about himself.
