Upvoted: [Left eating its own] Kevin Hart steps down as Oscar hosts over outage from years old gay jokes via /r/KotakuInAction
[Left eating its own] Kevin Hart steps down as Oscar hosts over outage from years old gay jokes
No wonder it's the job nobody wants, if you ever told an off-colour joke you're burmt at the stake!
http://archive.is/dKRZP NPR – Kevin Hart Bows Out As Oscars Host Amid Backlash Over Past Tweets
Some excerpts:
Just days after Kevin Hart got the nod to host the 91st Academy Awards ceremony, declaring it "the opportunity of a life time," the comedian is relinquishing the microphone. Hart announced that he is stepping down, citing his series of years-old homophobic tweets that had recently resurfaced.
He made the decision because he did not "want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists," Hart said in a pair of tweets. "I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past."
"I'm sorry that I hurt people," he added. "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."
Benjamin Lee, an editor at The Guardian, immediately expressed his disappointment with the selection and soon pointed to a cluster of old tweets that had been directed harsh words toward the gay community.
"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,' " reads one tweet that Hart posted in 2011.
FUN FACT: In 2011 both Obama & Hillary opposed gay marriage.
Other users dredged up a number of posts dating back nearly a decade, in which Hart spoke of gay people negatively and used an anti-gay slur.
The controversy only ballooned from there on social media, and by Thursday afternoon, Hart responded to it in two videos posted to his Instagram account.
"My team calls me, 'Oh my God, Kevin, the world is upset about tweets you did years ago,' " he said in the first, rubbing his face in evident frustration. "Guys, I'm almost 40 years old. If you don't believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don't know what to tell you."
In the second, posted just a few hours later, he said he had gotten a call from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the Oscars, requesting that he apologize for his tweets.
"I passed on the apology. The reason why I passed is that I've addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. 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," he said. "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."
"I'm thankful and appreciative of the opportunity," he added. "But if it goes away, no harm, no foul."
Shortly afterward, Hart announced he was stepping down.
Kevin's tweets:
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'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.
His video message on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BrEjHFCFe83/
Submitted December 07, 2018 at 12:51AM by YESmovement
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