Weeks after insensitive tweets from Kevin Hart resurfaced and caused him to step down from his gig hosting the 91st Oscars, the comedian revealed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that he may still take the job after all, the Daily Mail reported.
Hart appeared on fellow comedian Ellen DeGeneres’s popular talk show on Thursday, January 3, where they discussed his short timeline of earning the title of host of the 91st Oscars then promptly losing it just days later when social media posts from the Night School actor from 2009 and 2010 resurfaced that contained anti-gay rhetoric.
Kevin explained that his original plan was to ignore the commentary surrounding his old tweets, having already addressed the issue over the course of the last 10 years, but as headlines began labeling him as “homophobic” and saying he was “refusing to apologize,” he began to get upset. He told Ellen that he has lived his life differently over the last decade because he “understands” and “looks at life through a different lens.”
“So now, I’m kind of upset because these 10 years are just being ignored, they’re being brushed passed,” Hart said. “No headlines are saying ’10 years ago he apologized.’”
The comedian was given an ultimatum to either apologize again or step down from the gig, and ultimately chose the latter, not wanting the scandal to cloud a night that so many people had worked hard to get to.
I had an incredible and honest conversation with @KevinHart4real about hosting the #Oscars . It was supposed to air on Monday. I don’t want you to have to wait, so now it’s gonna air tomorrow.
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) January 4, 2019
While his decision to step down could be considered appropriate and even admiral by some, Ellen–who hosted the awards show in both 2007 and 2014–confessed during the show that she is still a huge proponent of him hosting, and revealed that she had been lobbying the Academy in hopes to get him to return to the role.
“I called the Academy today because I really want you to host the Oscars,” she said. “They were like ‘Oh my God, we want him to host…Whatever we can do, we would be thrilled’”
In this conversation, @KevinHart4real was authentic and real, and I’m in his corner. #OscarsNeedHart https://t.co/nhMwSefrMl
— Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) January 4, 2019
Hart responded to her support by saying he would be evaluating their conversation from the day’s show, and that it was something he “needed to have.”
“I’m glad I had it here. I’m glad it’s as authentic and real as I could’ve hoped it would be,” he said.
The 91st Oscars are scheduled for February 24, and there has yet to be a replacement named for the hosting gig. According to People , a source explained that there has been “a steady stream of buzz” that things may work out for Kevin to retake the job.
