‘I believe in forgiveness. I believe in second chances. And I believe in Kevin Hart’ – Ellen defends Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart stepped down from hosting the Academy Awards after past homophobic tweets resurfaced
By Steve Brown
Ellen DeGeneres has defended Kevin Hart and says the comedian should host the Academy Awards after he stepped down following backlash from homophobic tweets.
Shortly after Hart was announced to be hosting the upcoming Academy Awards, the comedian faced backlash after a series of homophobic tweets were resurfaced online and the comedian decided to step down from hosting responsibilities.
He was also slammed for comments he made in a segment from his 2010 comedy special Seriously Funny.
Hart 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. 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!”
But now, while appearing on Ellen, Hart admitted hosting the Academy Awards was a dream that is now shattered.
He told the openly gay chat show host: “When it first happened my first thought is, ‘I’m going to ignore it because it’s ten years old’.
“This is stuff I’ve addressed. I’ve talked about this. This isn’t new. I’ve apologised for it.
“The headlines are Kevin Hart refused to apologise for homophobic tweets from the past.
“Now, the slander on my name is all homophobia. I know that I don’t have a homophobic bone in my body.
“I know that I’ve addressed it. I know that I apologised for it. I’ve yet to go back to that version of the immature comedian that I once was.
“I’ve moved on. I’m a grown man. I’m cultured. I look at like through a different lens. I’m not that guy.”
Ellen then defended Hart and said: “I know you’re not that guy because I know you. You should host the Oscars and I’m going to talk you into it after this.”
While posting the interview on Facebook, Ellen wrote: “I believe in forgiveness. I believe in second chances. And I believe in Kevin Hart.”
Watch the clip below: