Three days after Kevin Hart was named host of the 2019 Oscars, he has decided to step down after controversy about his homophobic tweets from years ago.
On Thursday night, Hart tweeted, “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.”
Earlier in the day, anti-gay tweets were deleted from Hart’s page, which were posted ten years ago. Hours before stepping down, Kevin addressed the controversial tweets, saying in a video, “My team calls me, ‘Oh my God, Kevin, everyone’s upset by tweets you did years ago. Guys, I’m nearly 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. If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify the past, do you. I’m the wrong guy, man.”
In another video, Kevin explained why he didn’t apologize for his past tweets, saying, “I chose to pass on the apology. The reason why I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. 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.”
The 91st Oscars will take place February 24.
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