Kevin Hart admits he was ‘immature’ in handling the backlash against his historic homophobic tweets
Kevin Hart (Dominic Lorrimer/Fairfax Media via Getty Images)
Up next in ‘Things nobody asked for, seriously, who actually asked for this?’ Kevin Hart was ready to tell all during his Netflix documentary which aired yesterday.
In the comedian’s new six-part series, Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up, Hart got candid about the controversies which he has been caught in the crossfire of as of late, such as his string of historic homophobic tweets.
The 40-year-old was forced to pull out from hosting the 2019 Oscars because the tweets resurfaced, fuelling backlash and accusations of homophobia against the star.
While he apologised for the tweets – earning him plaudits from right-wing pundits – he has since weighed up on the scandal in the first episode of the series.
Kevin Hart: ‘I have no problem in saying I was wrong.’
Cameras caught the backlash Hart faced after calling gay people “f**s” and mocking lesbians. It showed the star’s team advising him that his approach to addressing detractors was wrong.
However, Hart disputed this at the time, leading to division within the team. As the controversy is chronicled, Hart’s publicist can be overheard saying Hart needs to take a “humility pill”.
“My approach to dealing with it because of the assumption that I had is just wrong,” Hart explained on the docuseries, recounting the criticism he faced.
He added: “I missed an opportunity to say simply that I don’t condone any type of violence in any way, shape or form to anyone for being who they are.
“I f**ked up.
Comedian Kevin Hart (Paras Griffin/Getty)
“Instead I said: ‘I addressed it’.
“I said: ‘I apologised’, I said, ‘I talked about this already’.”
“I was just immature.”
The father-of-three then reflected that he “could have done better” in handling the unfolding scandal.
“You’re not Superman. You’re not invincible,” he explained, “you don’t know everything.
“Your way is not always the right way.
“Sometimes it’s very valuable to stop for a second and assess. I know the things that I could’ve done better.
“I have no problem in saying I was wrong.”
Comedian resigned after historic homophobic tweets came to light.
At the end of last year, it emerged that Hart had called gay people “fags” and mocked lesbians in a series of historic social media posts, following an announcement that he would host the Oscars.
He also previously came under fire for anti-gay comments he made during his 2010 Seriously tour, during which he said: “One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear.”
The actor quit as the host of the 2019 Academy Awards, which took place in February, after organisers asked him to issue an apology for his historical anti-gay material. He then opted to publicly resign.
He wrote on Twitter at the time: “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 artist.
“I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”
