Kevin Hart steps down from Oscars hosting gig after homophobic tweet backlash

Comedian Kevin Hart has stepped down as host of the 2019 Academy awards and apologised for homophobic comments from a decade ago.

It was announced earlier this week that the funnyman would be hosting the prestigious event, however outrage soon followed after a series of homophobic tweets he had written were unearthed.

The Jumanji star announced his decision on Twitter: “I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists.

“I sincerely apologise to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past. I’m sorry that I hurt people. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart. Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again.”

The funnyman’s apology came just hours after he claimed he would not be forced to apologise for the tweets because he had already addressed them and apologised in 2015.

“I just got a call from the academy and that call basically said, ‘Kevin, apologise for your tweets of old or we’re going to have move on and find another host.’ They’re talking about the tweets from 2009, 2010. I passed, I passed on the apology,” Kevin said in a video posted to Instagram.

“The reason why I passed is I’ve addressed it several times. That’s not the first time this has come up. I’ve addressed it. I’ve spoken on it. I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were. I’ve said who I am now versus who I was then. I’ve done it,” Kevin continued.

“I’m not gonna continue to go back and tap into the days of old when I’ve moved on. I’m in a completely different space in my life.”

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