Kevin Hart Steps Down As Oscar Host, Finally Apologizes To LGBTQ Community, After Backlash Over His Oscar Gig

Ever since the Academy Award announced Kevin Hart as the host of the February 2019 ceremony, the internet has been on a persistent outrage over the choice. It’d been a tumultuous couple of days in which a litany of homophobic social media postings Hart made nearly a decade ago were dredged up and went viral.

The crisis got to a fever pitch when Hart responded with defiance. In an Instagram post, Hart essentially said that he has dealt with his homophobic statements in the past, and he’s not going to let Internet trolls win. He will stand his ground and not apologize, despite the Academy’s persistent demand for an apology. He said that if the Academy can’t accept that, they can replace him and it will be “no harm, no foul.”

Says Hart: “We feed Internet trolls and we reward them. I’m not going to do it, man. I’m going to be me. I’m going to stand my ground. Regardless, Academy, I’m thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. If it goes away, no harm, no foul.”

For the record, this was the second Instagram post Hart had filmed and he didn’t apologize in either one.

However, early today, Hart withdrew as Oscar host, drawing to a close the most bizarre Oscar debacle since a distracted accountant handed the wrong Best Picture envelope to Warren Beatty. He posted his withdrawal, announcing that he’d ended what two days ago he called his dream job.

Ironically, in the post he wrote to withdraw from the Oscar hosting job, Hart finally apologized to the LGBTQ community. If he had swallowed his pride and done that earlier, in the Instagram post in which he appeared shirtless and defiant, he might have saved the day.