# Kevin Hart Steps Down From Hosting The Oscars **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 7, 2018, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737 "2018-12-07T11:01:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/21 "2018-12-07T14:11:14Z")
> [@Royal\_Nonesutch](#): > > He apologized, after a fashion > [@GuanoLad](#): > > This is my problem. Something from the past that they already have apologised for, atoned for, learned from, changed over, and have grown up into a better person since > [@MeanJoe](#): > > We’re talking about comments he made many years ago, has already apologized for, grew out of the experience, and now behaves differently with understanding of the harm he was previously causing. Cite to his past apology? And if someone’s done something they’ve come to realize was wrong, and they’ve apologized for it, and learned and grown from the experience and have grown into a better person, why the obstinate refusal to so much as repeat that earlier apology? I’d never heard of this guy before maybe Wednesday, so I’ve got no dog in this fight, but that just sounds like total bullshit to me. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/22 "2018-12-07T15:17:46Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > I completely agree with this I don’t even like Kevin Hart, I think his stand-up material sucks and he isn’t even remotely funny (to me). +1, and I don’t watch the Academy Awards because they’re pointless and pretentious and boring as hell, but anyone who posts “I’m in love with the man I’m becoming” on social media deserves to be kneed in the bag just on principle. ---
**Author:** ![johnod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dc4da7/32.png) [@johnod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnod)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/23 "2018-12-07T15:40:35Z")
Does anyone ever think, boy I hope my son grows up gay? Why would you? It’s just going to make life harder for the kid, why would you want that for him? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/24 "2018-12-07T15:53:32Z")
> [@johnod](#): > > Does anyone ever think, boy I hope my son grows up gay? I don’t see your point. I have two kids. I never thought for a second, gee, I hope they don’t grow up gay or, gee, I hope they grow up straight! I hope they grow up being themselves. If one or both are gay, then, yes, I hope they grow up gay and not try to be something they’re not because of societal pressures, or whatnot. Luckily, the environment for that has been getting better over the last few decades. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/25 "2018-12-07T15:57:02Z")
Some people in this thread have clearly not seen the things Hart tweeted. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/26 "2018-12-07T16:23:38Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Some people in this thread have clearly not seen the things Hart tweeted. Sadly, I think they have. How can anyone defend “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.’”? It’s not funny and he wasn’t mocking actual assholes. It’s just disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/27 "2018-12-07T16:32:55Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Hart jumped. The Academy did not want him to go. They wanted him to apologise and move on. He felt he did not have to. > I repeat, they had a lot of trouble finding a host. Not going to get better after this. Certainly, it’s not a good look for the Academy to be firing an African-American host, given its highly public recent efforts to address its longstanding racial inequities. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/28 "2018-12-07T16:34:01Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > This is my problem. Something from the past that they already have apologised for, atoned for, learned from, changed over, and have grown up into a better person since, gets unearthed again, presented without proper context, just so they can be “offended” by it all over again, is not forgiveness. It’s vindictive. > > Somebody not liking something you said or did in your past is not a good reason to mess up somebody’s opportunities. It’s not being fair. Life is about learning and growing. Is it fair if I was judged only by a single harmless incident I committed thirty years ago, and not by everything I have done since? And I mean expressing an opinion, a point of view, not murder or abuse; something I would never say now. > > It scares me how the offenderati are ruling how we can behave now, like we should be superhumanly perfect people throughout our entire lives, no amount of growth being good enough to make up that one naughty thing we once did. You’re certainly free to boycott the Oscars broadcast in protest. Having read what this guy (who I never heard of before this thread) actually tweeted, I think it’s fair to say it was quite offensive. More than “I hope my son isn’t gay.” (which is offensive enough). I don’t know how long ago he tweeted that, but Twitter hasn’t been around\* that\* long, so it wasn’t “thirty years ago.” ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/29 "2018-12-07T16:46:12Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Having read what this guy (who I never heard of before this thread) Sort of beside the point and you’re not the first person to say this, but I find this surprising. He’s had a number of fairly high grossing films and was a prominent part of one of the biggest films of 2017. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/30 "2018-12-07T16:59:29Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > You’re certainly free to boycott the Oscars broadcast in protest. > > Having read what this guy (who I never heard of before this thread) actually tweeted, I think it’s fair to say it was quite offensive. More than “I hope my son isn’t gay.” (which is offensive enough). I don’t know how long ago he tweeted that, but Twitter hasn’t been around\* that\* long, so it wasn’t “thirty years ago.” The quote I copied was from 2011 when Hart was in his early 30s. This is not a relic of days of yore or from someone too young to know better. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/31 "2018-12-07T17:05:39Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Sort of beside the point and you’re not the first person to say this, but I find this surprising. He’s had a number of fairly high grossing films and was a prominent part of one of the biggest films of 2017. To continue the tangent: I just googled him. I didn’t know he was African American. He never hit my radar. I don’t even know which of the three 2017 films he was in was the big one. I guess I don’t follow films too much (of all the films listed for him, I’ve only seen one. The 40 Year Old Virgin, and that was 13 years ago). This is the major reason I can never appear on Jeopardy. I have some real gaps in my knowledge base. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/32 "2018-12-07T17:11:59Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > Sort of beside the point and you’re not the first person to say this, but I find this surprising. He’s had a number of fairly high grossing films and was a prominent part of one of the biggest films of 2017. It’s amazingly possible to live a full life and not know a thing about popular films. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/33 "2018-12-07T17:32:18Z")
He made the smart move and stepped down they didn’t force him out. Now the ball is in their court and apparently GLAAD or whatever still wants him to host. He did issue another apology before saying he wouldn’t be hosting, now I think the Academy are the ones who look like assholes, why should he deal with the drama, the guy’s career is on fire and this won’t affect it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/34 "2018-12-07T17:38:03Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Some people in this thread have clearly not seen the things Hart tweeted. I haven’t posted here, but now I am curious. Can someone link to them or quote them? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/35 "2018-12-07T17:52:33Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > This is my problem. Something from the past that they already have apologised for, atoned for, learned from, changed over, and have grown up into a better person since, gets unearthed again, presented without proper context, just so they can be “offended” by it all over again, is not forgiveness. It’s vindictive. > > Somebody not liking something you said or did in your past is not a good reason to mess up somebody’s opportunities. It’s not being fair. Life is about learning and growing. Is it fair if I was judged only by a single harmless incident I committed thirty years ago, and not by everything I have done since? And I mean expressing an opinion, a point of view, not murder or abuse; something I would never say now. > > It scares me how the offenderati are ruling how we can behave now, like we should be superhumanly perfect people throughout our entire lives, no amount of growth being good enough to make up that one naughty thing we once did. My only comment to this is that actions are what speak to me, not apologies. Is there evidence of actual change, in this case or in the general cases you are talking about? If they are a public figure, have they taken public actions to counter-act their stupidity of a few years ago? I can picture some type of PSA, or some work with a non-profit, that shows that actual change has happened. Lacking something like that, any apology no matter how well worded is going to sound hollow and opportunistic to me. Also I think you are using words like “offenderati” and using hyperbole by referring to one incident “30 years ago” to inflate your view of the issue and to draw attention away from any actual damage done by the original act. You seem to think that words are harmless. They aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/36 "2018-12-07T17:54:15Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > See the bit where I said I’m not talking about Kevin Hart? > > I’m talking about the general sense of “being offended” considered a legitimate position. It’s not. The problem with being a bigot is not that people get offended about it, the problem is that you are a bigot. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/37 "2018-12-07T18:02:20Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > My only comment to this is that actions are what speak to me, not apologies. Is there evidence of actual change, in this case or in the general cases you are talking about? If they are a public figure, have they taken public actions to counter-act their stupidity of a few years ago? I can picture some type of PSA, or some work with a non-profit, that shows that actual change has happened. Lacking something like that, any apology no matter how well worded is going to sound hollow and opportunistic to me. > > Also I think you are using words like “offenderati” and using hyperbole by referring to one incident “30 years ago” to inflate your view of the issue and to draw attention away from any actual damage done by the original act. You seem to think that words are harmless. They aren’t. Jokes are harmless. Was there one single episode of someone breaking a doll house over their son after Hart’s joke? Of course not. When he said the joke, people laughed, felt a little better and then nothing bad happened. Jimmy Kimmel has a long history of misogynistic jokes and a habit of blackface. Yet he was host the past two years without controversy. Has the Academy really fallen this far in only one year? ---
**Author:** ![johnod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dc4da7/32.png) [@johnod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnod)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/38 "2018-12-07T18:08:29Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I don’t see your point. I have two kids. I never thought for a second, gee, I hope they don’t grow up gay or, gee, I hope they grow up straight! I hope they grow up being themselves. If one or both are gay, then, yes, I hope they grow up gay and not try to be something they’re not because of societal pressures, or whatnot. Luckily, the environment for that has been getting better over the last few decades. The point was I don’t think anyone HOPES their son will be gay. If someone were to ask, “do you hope your son will be gay or straight?” The HONEST answer would be straight, because , like I said, his life would be easier. Yes you’re right it is getting better/ easier for gays, and that’s a good thing, but there are still obstacles that they will encounter that a straight guy wouldn’t. If your son were to turn out to be gay , well that’s a different thing, and you still do your best. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/39 "2018-12-07T18:08:59Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Jokes are harmless. Was there one single episode of someone breaking a doll house over their son after Hart’s joke? Of course not. When he said the joke, people laughed, felt a little better and then nothing bad happened. I’m guessing a whole lot of people neither laughed nor felt a little better. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/40 "2018-12-07T18:09:51Z")
> [@johnod](#): > > The point was I don’t think anyone HOPES their son will be gay. > If someone were to ask, “do you hope your son will be gay or straight?” > The HONEST answer would be straight, because , like I said, his life would be easier. Nope, my honest answer is “I don’t care.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737.md?page=3)