Kevin Hart responds to Oscars homophobia controversy: ‘The apology was never doing it again’

The comedian stepped down as host of the 2019 Oscars late last year, after homophobic tweets from almost a decade ago resurfaced online

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Kevin Hart has addressed the controversy that saw him step down as the host of the 2019 Oscars late last year, after homophobic tweets from almost a decade ago resurfaced online.

After initially refusing to apologise, Hart later said sorry to the LGBT+ community for the comments and appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The ceremony went ahead without any official host, with organisers instead relying on big names to present the awards.

Speaking to USA Today, the comedian said: The way that I handled it in the beginning was never from a place where I’m being negative or angry or playing victim. 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).”

However, he said that he spoke to friends within the LGBT+ community and listened to their concerns, adding: “If the verbal [apology] would have been better, then I can understand that. But at the time, I didn’t grasp the concept of just wanting to hear that again.”

Hart has returned to the scene with a new hour-long Netflix special titled Irresponsible, filmed at London’s O2 Arena last September. The show sees him tackle parenting, divorce, infidelity, and his marriage to Eniko Parrish.

"You should embrace your flaws, because they help make you who you are," he tells the audience during the show.