Kevin Hart, whose homophobic ‘jokes’ cost him a job as Oscars host, is unsurprisingly not a fan of cancel culture
Kevin Hart attends the FX Networks’ Star Walk Winter Press Tour 2020 at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on January 09, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (Gregg DeGuire/WireImage)
Kevin Hart, who stepped down from hosting the Oscars in 2019 following backlash over his past homophobic jokes, has rallied against cancel culture while defending his friends Ellen DeGeneres and Nick Cannon.
The comedian has emerged as one of DeGeneres’ most vocal allies as her eponymous show fields accusations of misconduct, and has also spoken out in defence of Cannon, who was dropped by broadcaster Viacom after making anti-Semitic comments.
In an interview with Deadline, Hart explained that he would continue to vocally support his controversial friends because of his unsurprising opposition to cancel culture.
He said: “I know how lonely it gets, because I know that these are times when people just turn their back on you.
“So for the ones that you love, that are close to your heart, you just want them to have some support, when it seems that there is none out there, and that’s just who I am as a person.
“When it comes to Nick, and it comes [to] Ellen, I know who they are, and I know who they’ve been for the years that I’ve been around them, and I can only speak to that.
“Those are two of the most amazing people that I know.”
Kevin Hart and Ellen DeGeneres at the 2017 People’s Choice Awards. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty)
He continued: “We’re letting people control and dictate the start and finish of people’s lives, and if we are in a time of finding any type of solution to the fight of equality and change, which seems to be a global fight now — a global fight of people being treated fairly, change, understanding and accepting the past, but preparing for a better future — that means that we can’t be in a position where we’re contradicting ourselves.
“If people [have done something] wrong, the idea of canceling those people, and ending whatever career or thing they have…If it’s just over, then what’s the teachable moment for them?
“What, it’s over, and then you can’t do nothing else for the rest of your life, because you made a mistake?”
Kevin Hart stepped down from hosting the 2019 Oscars after homophobic jokes resurfaced.
Kevin Hart previously spoke out against cancel culture, saying he deserved “a chance to move on” after being forced to quit as the host of the 2019 Oscars.
Hart stepped down from the ceremony after a series of social media posts emerged, dating between 2009 and 2012, in which he called gay people “fags” and mocked lesbians.
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.
“Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will.
“Now with that being said, I don’t know if I handled my son’s first gay moment correctly. Every kid has a gay moment but when it happens, you’ve got to nip it in the bud!”
