We told you earlier this week that Kevin Hart was being tapped to host the 91st Annual Academy Awards. But yesterday the comedian decided to forgo the pleasure after he was asked to apologize for comments he made ten years ago.
The Academy wanted Kevin to apologize for anti-gay tweets and comments he made during past standup routines. While he deleted some of the tweets, he refused to apologize because he claims he’s addressed the issue before.
“This is not the first time this has come up,” Kevin explained in an Instagram video. “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.”
- Hours later, Hart took to Twitter to say that he’d stepped down from the gig. In his statement, he said, “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.”
- Now the Academy has to start looking for another host. Clearly no one’s clamoring for the job because the Hart announcement came fairly late in the game. We’ll keep you posted…
Source: Kevin Hart