Kevin Hart stepped down as Oscar host after his homophobia came to light

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I honestly didn’t know which controversy would prove to be Kevin Hart’s biggest problem. Maybe that was his biggest problem – the infidelity and lies, the homophobia, the casual racism, all of that was a big confluence of “maybe the Academy should rethink Hart as Oscar host.” Just kidding, it was the homophobia that did him in. People took the time to go through his old social media posts (when really they just had to look at his stand-up?) and found a lot of homophobic and problematic sh-t. Initially, this was how Hart responded:

kevin hart1

Which is a really weird way to respond when people are like “hey are you going to address your homophobic comedy and history of homophobic social media?” The narcissism of it was astounding, especially when he seemed to double-down in a series of videos:

Just a few hours later, Kevin Hart announced that he was stepping down as the 2019 Oscars host.

So Kevin Hart had the Oscar hosting gig for a full four days, basically. What kills me is that people who take these kinds of jobs – Oscars host, director of a giant Marvel film – don’t have the presence of mind to just delete their social media entirely, or at the very least, delete their history of problematic tweets or posts. They could even hire a crisis manager to do all that sh-t ahead of time. Oh well… who will be the Oscar host now? Considering the homophobia, I think they’ll hire Ellen DeGeneres to ride in and save the day. I still have my fingers crossed for Gritty and the Mandarin Duck though.

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Photos courtesy of WENN.

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84 Responses to “Kevin Hart stepped down as Oscar host after his homophobia came to light”

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  1. Becks1 says:

    Wow that was fast. (from being named as host to stepping down.)

    • Chaine says:

      I feel as if it was less than 48 hours ago that I learned he would be hosting and he’s already gone, crazy.

  2. Scal says:

    He started deleting the tweets on Thursday once he started being called out. That ship has sailed man.

    I’m not even sure where saying beating your son if he plays with a doll is funny. Is there a punchline? And he’s been making similar comments for the last 2-3 years so the “I’ve grown” schtick is just that.

    • Alissa says:

      I was so happy to read that he wasn’t the host this morning because I think he’s repugnant. and the Oscars are an event in my house.

      • elo320 says:

        Agreed. Can’t stand this little twerp.

      • Nicole says:

        The Oscars would be a perfect time for a Celebitchy podcast! Still jumping around while my husband side eyes me! Like a live event! Also I think I might be knocked up which I didn’t think could happen! Please make my Oscar night come true and do a live podcast!!!

    • Olive says:

      this is hardly the first time these tweets have resurfaced, either – i remember reading about them years ago! should’ve deleted them way back when.

    • lucy2 says:

      He’s full of BS and a total narcissist, if this is his response. Of course he’s not wrong, he loves everyone! Please.
      I’m glad he’s not going to be doing it, but the Academy should have researched for, I don’t know, 5 minutes? before hiring him.

      • Meg says:

        This to me says the academy is going through something similar the NFL is, they’ve been turned down by many and are working their way down a list and getting desperate, too desperate to be picky so they don’t do things like research the people their offering the gigs to. Please the GOP found sarah palin on youtube and didn’t bother to vet her first, let alone prepare her for interviews. Trainwreck.

      • Milla says:

        The academy is full of much worse people. Its all just about an image, but the reality doesn’t seem to be part of those people. They give those awards to pedos, rapists, amusers, homophobes, racists, all the time.

  3. Millennial says:

    What a trainwreck. Do the producers of the Oscars not do their homework before hiring a host? Him being problematic is nothing new.

    • jessamine says:

      Exactly! He was a weird, crass choice for the Oscars to begin with.

    • me says:

      Makes you wonder if this was all done on purpose. Get buzz going as the Oscars don’t get the viewer numbers they used to get. Now we’re all intrigued about who the host will be. I mean, I am SURE it is someone’s job to make sure the person hired hasn’t done/said any racist/sexist/homophobic slurs. I mean it’s f*cking 2018 ! They must have known.

    • adastraperaspera says:

      This was my first thought. I would have been fired from my job had I made such a vetting mistake.

  4. Missy says:

    Id be more willing to look past it if they had been actual jokes, but those tweets didnt seem like jokes. Besides that, is the bar set so low that kevin hart was the best they could find honestly?

  5. RBC says:

    That was a non apology. He “apologized” just enough to quiet his critics and then stepped down from hosting the Oscars before they decided to fire him. Better to quit than be fired. Now he will go on a redemption tour and make sure he is seen hanging around and working with high profile members of the LGBTQ community. He is hoping in a few years this will be forgotten.

  6. Ariel says:

    My vote- for Oscar host- is Hannah Gadsby. Or Jay and Silent Bob.

  7. U.S and them says:

    Bring in Michelle Wolf, please.

  8. Char says:

    If they follow the trend to hire someone not funny and homophobic, they may end up with Lena Dunhan.

  9. grabbyhands says:

    I actually think that going back and deleting your tweets rather than just admitting to past shitty behavior is worse, especially when it is coupled with what was a pretty impressive non-apology. Because all you’re doing is making it obvious (it if wasn’t already) that what you’re saying is 100% insincere and probably only motivated by arrogance and ego and fear of taking a financial hit.

    Let’s be real – he hasn’t changed or evolved, that is just rescue PR handed down by his team. He’ll be on SNL in no time and while he may not be offered any big hosting gigs in the near future, he’ll walk away fairly unscathed. Also, I find it funny that he would rather walk away from what he said was a dream gig than offer an actual apology.

  10. Myriam says:

    “Oscars host, director of a giant Marvel film don’t have the presence of mind to just delete their social media entirely, or at the very least, delete their history of problematic tweets or posts.”

    Here’s the thing: Nothing on the internet can ever be deleted. NOTHING!

  11. Sue Denim says:

    I’ll say it again here, John Mulaney!!! 🙂 And maybe Nick Kroll as someone here suggested as their Oh Hello characters!

    • lucy2 says:

      Mulaney would be great! I used to find him annoying, but I watched a few of his specials recently, and have come around. The horse in a hospital bit is the best ever, and he seems like a good guy.

    • Alissa says:

      I really wish they would have John Mulaney host!

    • leskat says:

      This never occurred to me, but yes for John Mulaney!!!!

    • hogtowngooner says:

      John Mulaney would be a fantastic host!

    • anony83 says:

      I would love to see John Mulaney host something but I feel like he would be a better fit for the Golden Globes…at least for a first major hosting gig. (And conveniently enough, the GGs still don’t have a host! Perfect!!)

    • jan90067 says:

      LOVE JM!! He’s hysterically funny!!! He’d be a great choice, except they usually choose someone who’s been IN a movie.

  12. AG-UK says:

    I like social media and all don’t follow anyone on Twitter or use it and don’t post a lot on IG or FB but do people not give themselves a moment before banging on that keyboard.. just any stupid nonsense that comes into your head you type? And like you say NOTHING can be deleted you can see it’s gone but it’s THERE.. I don’t find him funny.

    • Swack says:

      People don’t think twice. I always follow the rule “Measure twice, cut once”. As a retired teacher and someone who was in charge of the Softball/Baseball program in my area, I would write emails, save them, come back the next day to make sure they were properly worded because sometimes what I would want to say was not appropriate and I wanted to make sure my attitude did not come through.

  13. Miles says:

    Why are some people on Twitter acting like The Academy treated him like this because he’s black? Why is his constant homophobia being excused?

    And before anyone says people did a lot of digging or whatever that’s not true. If you’ve followed his career even a bit, you’d know he was saying homophobic things in interviews. Wouldn’t be hard to assume that someone who verbally says homophobic things wouldn’t mind tweeting homophobic things.

    *And this isn’t including his racism against black women and how he treated his partners in the past. His behavior is why this happened to him.

  14. Lizzie says:

    He needs to sit down with Terry Crews and work through his issues with toxic masculinity. He’s a homophobe and a cheater who doesn’t respect women. I get that his “thing” is that he’s constantly losing a dick measuring contest with people b/c he’s short but get a grip. Men who have a personality disorder b/c of their height need to get a therapist and deal with it on their own time – like women have done for millennium. And since he’s a homophobe and asshole and refusing to apologize – I’m not concerned in the least with publicly speculating that he himself is closeted.

    • C says:

      They should call Terry Crews to host!!!!!

    • elo320 says:

      > I get that his “thing” is that he’s constantly losing a dick measuring contest with people b/c he’s short

      Spot on. This is exactly what it is.

    • Anna says:

      Also, just a note that it is not Terry Crews job to fix Black men or anyone for that matter. That’s like saying a victim of abuse should sit down with abusers and talk it out. He’s so brave for coming forward and for all he continues to do and say on this front, but Kevin doesn’t deserve his time nor is the onus on Terry. I know you weren’t necessarily saying that but I just wanted to point out that if women are not expected to do so, men like Terry shouldn’t either.

  15. Prissa says:

    Why isn’t the onus placed on these award shows to research and hire the right person? Not excusing Kevin’s posts and it’s good it has come to light, but seriously. That’s like hiring someone without doing a background check and then being upset when it comes out they have a criminal record.

    Just weird.

    • Renee2 says:

      I KNOW!!!!

      Surely they have someone on staff or an intern who could scan potential hosts’ social media, right???? Sheesh. This makes them look bad too. And now they are back to not having a host.

    • Steff says:

      They only think about who will give them the most viewers and who is available.

      • elo320 says:

        Disagree. Ricky Gervais would bring in viewers for sure, but obiously they would never consider him. Somehow though, this little worm got the job despite having a long and well-documented history of being a POS.

    • Tibbles says:

      It’s like USA Gymnastics!

      They hired 2 people with VERY troubling comments about Nassar, very awful behaviours! Those people only got fired because Simone and Ally stepped up and did the job for them.

      Always the victims take the burden on. I’m so tried of it.

  16. Feebee says:

    “Came to light”? I’m a very casual follower of Hart and his homophobia or at least using it as a punchline is well known. Not sure what the Academy thought was going to happen there. Maybe as Prissa said above they could do a little research before selecting a host.

    I love the Terry Crews idea.

  17. Jane Does says:

    Terry Crews is an excellent idea.

  18. Wee Jimmy says:

    Please tell me I wasn’t the only person to skim his statement, see “I’m in love with the man…” and think PLOT TWIST!

  19. Adorable says:

    I love how he said he’s not going to apologize yet he ended up apologizing,I just think he saw the backlash when it was announced he’d be hosting and that’s that.Gimme Ellen & Whoopi to Host please😇😇😇.

  20. Lala11_7 says:

    I have been watching the Oscars for over 40 years…I watch it to celebrate excellence in cinema at some of its highest levels…I expect to see hosts that reflect that standard…

    That is NOT Kevin Hart…

    The homophobia…which is sickening…is one thing…

    But the fact that he hosted a “Cowboys & Indians” party last week for his son…continuing the HORRIFIC American tradition of celebrating genocide wrapped in a Cinemascope John Ford BS nostalgic narrative…When we currently have a White Supremacist POTUS RIGHT NOW who is stealing Brown Babies from their parents…and Indigenous People in this country….RIGHT NOW…are fighting for their lives…their water…their land …to EXIST…and when folks pointed out that very fact…he basically told everyone to get a life….

    I would have boycotted the Oscars this year if he had hosted…

    And I am STILL FEELING some kind of way that he was even OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY!

    • Ameara says:

      This, this, this! Thank you. I’m not American and even I’m about that party.

    • me says:

      Yeah I gotta agree with you. He was NEVER the right choice. The way he handled the backlash for his “Cowboys and Indians” party was so gross. Like dude are you kidding me? He thinks he’s not an offensive person. Let me tell you Kevin, you very much ARE.

    • Ally says:

      I know, and it’s barely mentioned in most of the tweets and articles I’ve seen on this!

      I mean, hello Oscars, you have your own shameful ‘cowboys and Indians’ history, and that Littlefeather wake-up moment at the Oscars was 45 fricking years ago.

    • Knitter says:

      Hear, hear! Well said.

  21. Amelie says:

    Wow he beat Scaramucci when it comes to shortest tenure at a job hahaha. I have never been a Kevin Hart fan and I don’t get the hype around him. He just seems incredibly annoying and over the top. What is ironic to me though is he apologized to the LGBT community but stepped down anyways. I don’t understand why they don’t just ditch the host thing this year. It isn’t essential to the show. Sure, it might make it a bit more fun but in the end it’s a time suck and the Oscars ALWAYS goes overtime. Every year they proclaim the ceremony “will be shorter” but it’s just as long every year.

  22. Veronica S. says:

    I seriously do not understand how people running for office/celebrities/etc. DO NOT GET that the Internet is forever. I mean, for real, I’m applying for medical school next year, and I completely wiped my social media footprint or anything attached to my real name or that could be traced to any of my pen names. Not that it was public to begin with – it was only my Facebook, and that shit was on friends only lock down.

  23. ValiantlyVarnished says:

    Welp I will eat my words from my comment yesterday. For me the issue isn’t that he said something problematic- a lot of celebs do. Its the stating that he’s “evolved” in his thinking and yet still doubling down and refusing to apologize. If you have TRULY evolved in the way you look at an issue then you have no problem taking responsibility for past actions. Period. He released a lame statement about “the people who know me know who I am”. Yeah, so what? Those arent the people you offended.
    All he had to do from the start is apologize sincerely. Instead he doubled down and then gave a fake apology and wound up stepping down anyway. Disappointed.

  24. Eliza says:

    Do they need a host? Sure they need an opening but after that the host just eats time with unfunny bits.

    Get a group to do the opening and then you’re done.

    Since they’re “shaking this up” this year to trim time to bring in new audience might as well try something new.

  25. AnotherDirtyMartini says:

    I didn’t realize this re KH. Good move. Step the hell down. Let’s get some funny women hosts!

  26. Ada says:

    Tiffany Haddish should host! Or Awkwafina!

  27. h3Rh1GHN3SS says:

    BUT BRET BOOF BOY KAVANAUGH CAN GO ON TO THE SUPREME COURT?????

  28. Sparkly says:

    Love how he says he’ll stand his ground and not apologize and then he tweets an apology. Because he’s so sorry.

  29. Louisa says:

    Hannah Gadsby
    Lin-Manuel Miranda
    Tig Notaro
    Patrick Stewart & Ian McKellan
    Sean Hayes (maybe with someone…?)

    There are so many good choices. What were they thinking asking Kevin Hart in the first place? Read the room ffs!

  30. me says:

    Oprah should host.

  31. DiegoInSF says:

    Good, he’s utter trash. I liked Ellen as the host a few years back.

  32. Ally says:

    Yep, intersectionality should go in all directions, from all sides. Sometimes I think liberals kid themselves that all oppressed minorities will see their common goal and be free of prejudice, but it’s more complicated because people don’t make the effort to think past whatever “at least I’m better than” trope gives them comfort. Racism, sexism, xenophobia and homophobia are something everyone can work on, or at least have the sense to see that we have more in common and should unite to better everyone’s lives, safety and freedom.

    • Almond biscuit says:

      Well, generally the golden calf aka money is worshipped too much. If you don’t have gold you go seek something else that places you in the top levels of any hierachy – any kind of hierarchy, actually.

  33. sid says:

    Good riddance. Such a mediocre talent should never have gotten the gig in the first place. And in addition to these terrible tweets, he has past tweets mocking Black women who have dark skin. Let him suffer.

    • me says:

      Has this dude not seen his own skin color? Nothing wrong with being dark ! Plus he has a daughter. That’s horrible.

  34. MrsBeast says:

    Aside from everything he tweeted, I find him annoying and NOT funny. His voice grates. He was a terrible choice from the get go. I never saw his appeal.

  35. Yes Doubtful says:

    They were from around 2010 and he (and everyone else) should KNOW BETTER by then to not use words like that or think like that. Being gay isn’t anything new. Why are people still so hung up about this? As long as two people are consenting, I couldn’t care less who they love, marry or sleep with. BOY, BYE!