Just three days after Kevin Hart announced that he was taking on the job of hosting next year’s Oscars ceremony, the actor and comedian has stepped down from his role after a controversy over a series of past homophobic jokes and tweets.
The Jumanji and Central Intelligence star took to Twitter to announce his decision to resign, which came after a flurry of negative online responses to his appointment as the host of the 91st Academy Awards. Calls for his dismissal came after a number of his previous social media posts, which expressed homophobic views, resurfaced. Hart had been under pressure from the Oscars’ organisers to apologise or be ousted from his role.
Hart said that he didn’t want his appointment to be a “distraction” from the event, and issued an apology to the LGBT+ community for his “insensitive words” from his past. He followed that up by saying that he was “evolving” and that he wanted to “bring people together, not tear us apart”.
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.
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018
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. — Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018
The Academy is now on the lookout for a new host for the 2019 awards, which will take place on 25 February.