“Kevin Hart shouldn’t have stepped down; he should have stepped up,” GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement in response the comedian quitting as Oscars host amid fury over his old homophobic tweets.
Hart made several homophobic comments in a series of now-deleted tweets posted between 2009 and 2011. He initially refused to issue an apology because he has addressed the matter “several times” previously.
Last week, the “Night School” star decided to step down from the Oscars hosting gig “because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists,” he said.
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We’ve reached out to @ABCNetwork, @TheAcademy and @KevinHart4real’s management to discuss Kevin’s anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and record as well as opportunities for positive LGBTQ inclusion on the Oscars stage. https://t.co/1Ho3raUaOz
— GLAAD (@glaad) December 6, 2018
He added: “I sincerely apologise to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past,” he added.
On Instagram Hart told people to “stop looking for reasons to be angry,” claiming he would “stand his ground” and not “feed the internet trolls.”
“Hart’s apology to LGBTQ people is an important step forward, but he missed a real opportunity to use his platform and the Oscars stage to build unity and awareness. We would still welcome that conversation with him. The Academy has recently made significant strides in featuring diverse talent onstage and they should now double down on that commitment as they look for a new host,” GLAAD’s statement continued.
Hart’s series of offensive “jokes” that folks are riled up over included a Tweet that read: “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay’.”
During a stand-up show, he said: “One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay,” he said. ”That’s a fear. Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will. Now with that being said, I don’t know if I handled my son’s first gay moment correctly. Every kid has a gay moment but when it happens, you’ve got to nip it in the bud!”
Hart prevlsy revealed that he turned down a role in 2008’s “Tropic Thunder” because the character was gay and “real flagrant.”
Today, Kevn Hart says he’s a changed man and continuing to evolve and “in love with the man I’m becoming”.
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