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Kevin Hart’s past homophobic comments continue to be a sore point for the comedian, who in a recent interview said he didn’t know why his apology on Ellen after stepping down as host of the Oscars hadn’t been “enough.”
Hart had been chosen to host the Oscars last year, however after a series of homophobic tweets came to light, he stepped down.
In an interview with USA Today, he addressed the controversy again in an effort to clarify his stance on the issue. At the time, Hart caused outrage by not immediately apologising for his previous comments although he did later say sorry to the LGBT+ community during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, many have since argued that his apology wasn't really an apology at all.
Did he regret how he initially handled the situation?
“The way that I handled it in the beginning was never from a place where I'm being negative or angry or playing victim,” he responded.
It was, ‘Hey, guys, I apologised about this. I talked about this years ago and I said I'll never do it again.’ To me, that was the apology. The apology was never doing it again. So I didn't understand why that wasn't good (enough). Why isn't the 10-year change of a guy never talking like this, never doing it again through stand-up or jokes, being noticed?
I thought the best way to say sorry is by changing, whereas some people still wanted to just hear me say it again. And that's where I think the miscommunication or the disconnect came from.
The tweets date back to 2009, and show Hart using homophobic language to insult others and joke about his son playing with a doll’s house.
After the tweets resurfaced, they were deleted, and Hart addressed them in an Instagram video where he didn’t appear to apologise.
My team calls me, ‘Oh my God, Kevin, everyone’s upset by tweets you did years ago.'
Guys, I’m nearly 40 years old. If you don’t believe that people change, grow, evolve as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you.
If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify the past, do you. I’m the wrong guy, man.
After, he said the Academy had given him an ultimatum to apologise or step down, he took to Twitter to announce that he was “sorry that I hurt people” and that he was stepping down.
Hart didn’t help his position when CNN host Don Lemon said that in an off-the-record conversation with the comedian, he had said it’s not his “dream to be an LGBT+ ally.”
Hart went on to issue an apology to the LGBT+ community on the channel Sitius XM show Straight from the Hart.
I will say this, and I want to make this very clear.
Once again, Kevin Hart apologies for his remarks that hurt members of the LGBTQ community. I apologise.
I am now moving on from this because I am hoping the apology is accepted. I am not homophobic and never have been.
Lots of LGBT+ people, including Don Lemon, thought an apology wasn’t enough, and insist he needs to be an ally.
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