The announcement to have famous comedian-actor Kevin Hart host the Oscars in February of 2019 seemed like the right move for the Academy as numbers have been diminishing in recent years. They were hoping that bringing on an African-American celebrity to host the show would help bring back up the votes. However, this decision only resurfaced controversy surrounding homophobic tweets and comments made by Kevin Hart ten years ago.
The outcry came on strong since the Academy's announcement on Tuesday, enough that they asked Kevin to apologize for his words and actions in order to continue the road to Oscars host in 2019. Kevin Hart posted a video to his Instagram saying that he would not apologize, making things considerably worse. According to The Guardian, he said the reason he chose to pass on the apology is "because I’ve addressed this several times, this is not the first time this has come up, I’ve addressed this… 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 space in my life."
On Friday, Hart posted his statement for stepping down as host in an apology to the LGBTQ community on twitter stating, "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’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 and appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again.”
What is still uncertain is why Hart still hasn't deleted the homophobic and controversial tweets to begin with. It appears as though his pride might be in the way. The Academy has made no further announcements regarding a replacement host at this time.
