# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/81 "2018-12-11T01:59:34Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > It’s gone way past “apology” and is now “you must continually grovel and beg for forgiveness until Twitter slacktivists are satisfied.” Never apologise to people who hate you. They don’t see it as growth but as weakness and continue to pound you with it. When the atheists require autos-de-fe it just becomes funny. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/82 "2018-12-11T12:43:21Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > When the atheists require autos-de-fe it just becomes funny. That’s certainly a risible choice of words. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/83 "2018-12-11T15:20:28Z")
Stolen from Reddit: > [@](#): > > Why are people acting so dense about this? > > Kevin Hart told some jokes where the punchline is that he wouldn’t want a gay son. Nobody really gives a shit about what Kevin Hart thinks so it got ignored. > > Kevin Hart tweets daily for two years calling people fags and faggots. Just because you used to say it back then too doesn’t mean it was ok, just that you were ignorant at the time. > > Kevin Hart says multiple times seemingly not in comedy formula or for some reason devoid of any set up or punch lines that he would hit his son if he caught him playing with dolls. Really, not cool. > > Kevin Hart gets called on it, and in a RS interview in 2015 says he wouldn’t say those jokes anymore because “people get too offended these days” but THEN in the same article proceeds to say he would be a failure of a father if his son turned out gay. Keep in mind fathers have no ability to change their child’s sexuality once determined. Kevin’s statement only works if you think gay people are lesser anyway. Failed as a father? So gay children are inherently failures? Pretty shitty. > > For some reason people took the above 2015 as an apology? Despite him not apologising. Around that time he also got dragged for his movie Get Hard which had some reaaally questionable jokes but hey it’s a dumb comedy so nobody really gives a shit. > > Kevin Hart gets hired to host the Oscars. People remember the shit he said and didn’t apologise for, so they bring it back and a whole new audience sees his tweets and so-called “jokes”. There is backlash and the Oscars give him a call and say hey we still want you to host but please apologise for those tweets, we have a big LGBT following and it’s not a good look. > > Kevin says he’ll “pass on the apology” because he “already addressed it” (not apology) and he says people should just focus on positivity and be happy for him. He didn’t express any positivity towards gay people up until that point so you can see why gay people may not want to send any positivity his way. > > Kevin “triumphantly” steps down from hosting and reddit says he’s a champion of free speech and that he should’ve kept the job (that he wasn’t fired from) because “fuck outrage culture”. > > What the hell? But of course the problem is “people are too easily offended” and not “Kevin Hart is an unapologetic 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 11, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/84 "2018-12-11T17:33:45Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > But folks are merely _saying words_ about this: folks who take issue with the jokes aren’t smashing windows or throwing bombs; they’re _saying words_ in response, and people who hear them are reacting with a quick ‘yeah, okay.’ The folks who run the Oscars are not just saying words, they told him apologize or get fired. Criticism is fine, censorship is not. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/85 "2018-12-11T17:42:12Z")
Censorship is fine too. Good character clauses in artists’ contracts are as old as Hollywood. ---
**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 11, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/86 "2018-12-11T17:43:33Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > The folks who run the Oscars are not just saying words, they told him apologize or get fired. Criticism is fine, censorship is not. _blink blink_ ---
**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 11, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/87 "2018-12-11T17:46:17Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No. Bigoted words have power whether they make you feel bad or not, because they promote bigotry. Their very nature is harmful to society, which requires disparate groups to function together. > > Hart’s jokes only work if the audience accepts bigotry as true. So the only people who would find his jokes funny are bigots, and I don’t have any problem depriving them of joy. It is wrong to get joy out of harming others. > > And, finally, I don’t want to live in the calloused world you describe, where people don’t care about the feelings of others, and everyone has to keep their guard up at all times. That would be emotionally draining, lack intimacy or caring, and just be horrible. > > Though do you even really feel that way? Because I’m pretty sure that, if I started making jokes attacking white conservative men, you’d get upset. You wouldn’t say that I should be allowed to provide joy to everyone else. That is not how jokes work. If it were Polish people would have been the most discriminated against group. By allowing groups to laugh at themselves and other it shows a shared humanity and having a sense of humor about yourself is much healthier than trying to find outrage all around you. No one thought Kevin Hart was actually going to attack his kid if he was gay anymore than they thought Henny Youngman was asking people to kidnap his wife. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where people didn’t care about the feelings of others. But I do want to live in a world where people understand the jokes are to be taken in jest. It is a much better world than the one where humorless scolds get to decide what comedians get to say. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/88 "2018-12-11T17:55:55Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > The folks who run the Oscars are not just saying words, they told him apologize or get fired. Criticism is fine, censorship is not. Can you expand upon this a little? It seems like you are saying that once the Oscars decided to pick him as host, not matter what he says or said can be used to terminate his hosting contract? If they do terminate the contract, then it’s censorship? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/89 "2018-12-11T18:01:04Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > I wouldn’t want to live in a world where people didn’t care about the feelings of others. But I do want to live in a world where people understand the jokes are to be taken in jest. It is a much better world than the one where humorless scolds get to decide what comedians get to say. A bunch of the Twitter “jokes” boil down to “that guy looks like a fag”. ---
**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 11, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/90 "2018-12-11T18:41:17Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Won’t somebody please think of the children! > > Words only have power if we let them. Our feelings are not controlled by other people. If people feel bad about themselves because of jokes then they need to be emotionally stronger not given the power to shut down comedy which brings joy to so many people. Won’t someone please think of the poor bigoted audiences longing for queer jokes to make them laugh? So homophobic insults in a comedy routine bring joy to so many people? You know what? Fuck them, if that’s what they like. You’ve clearly never had to deal with these kinds of issues in your own life. You are right about one thing, our feelings aren’t controlled by other people. But there has to be some other influence to counter what bullies and other disgusting people say, especially for young people who are still developing. Are you going to tell a 12-year-old to get over it because he should be emotionally stronger? I pray you don’t have children, or that they had a better influence in their lives than you. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/91 "2018-12-11T18:55:02Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > A bunch of the Twitter “jokes” boil down to “that guy looks like a fag”. Who can forget the classic comedic genius of “I’d beat my son if he was a fag”. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/92 "2018-12-11T20:21:07Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > That is not how jokes work. If it were Polish people would have been the most discriminated against group. By allowing groups to laugh at themselves and other it shows a shared humanity and having a sense of humor about yourself is much healthier than trying to find outrage all around you. > No one thought Kevin Hart was actually going to attack his kid if he was gay anymore than they thought Henny Youngman was asking people to kidnap his wife. Wives actually being kidnapped at the behest of their husbands is a rather rare event, and the only example I actually can think of is the movie “Fargo,” which isn’t a true story. Kids being beaten for being gay, even by their parents, is rather a common thing. Gay kids are much more often the victims of abuse and violence than kids as a whole. That’s why it wasn’t funny. I have said this before and will again; anyone who thinks comedians can’t tell jokes anymore for fear of being shouted down has never, ever been in a comedy club. Comedians today are edgier, grosser and more prone to trying to make their audiences uncomfortable than they have ever been. How they choose to attack your sensibilities is changing - as it always has - but they’re pushing the envelope as hard as ever. Jokes about “fags” are pathetically hack, anyway. The reason they’re getting shouted down isn’t just because they’re offensive, it’s because they’re offensive and they aren’t funny. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/93 "2018-12-12T00:22:00Z")
> [@johnod](#): > > 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? There are legitimate non-homophobic reasons to hope your kids are heterosexual. Because the world is cruel to non-heterosexuals, most people would hope to spare their kids from cruelty. But that’s not the only consideration. But do you really think _nobody_ hopes their kids are gay? I have to imagine at least some gay people hope their kids are gay. Because people want their kids to be like them. It’s a shared experience thing. There are deaf people who want their kids to be deaf. I hope my kids grow up liking math puzzles and comic books, even though my experience is that the world is often not very kind to kids like that (though comic books seem to be pretty mainstream these days) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/94 "2018-12-12T01:14:05Z")
Hart’s job is to ask for money in exchange for saying things. It’s absolutely legitimate for people to stop paying him if they don’t like what he says. That’s not censorship. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/95 "2018-12-12T02:31:54Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > The folks who run the Oscars are not just saying words, they told him apologize or get fired. But that’s — wait, what do you think “words” are? ---
**Author:** ![SmokeTwibz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SmokeTwibz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmokeTwibz)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/96 "2018-12-12T12:42:06Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > The problem with being a bigot is not that people get offended about it, the problem is that you are a bigot. Is calling him a bigot any different than someone calling a gay person a faggot? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/97 "2018-12-12T13:15:52Z")
> [@SmokeTwibz](#): > > Is calling him a bigot any different Nice try, but “bigot” is NOT a hate slur however much some may want to claim it to be. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/98 "2018-12-12T14:20:31Z")
> [@SmokeTwibz](#): > > Is calling him a bigot any different than someone calling a gay person a faggot? Yes. Yes it is. In quite a lot of ways. One is insulting someone for an intrinsic characteristic they were born with and cannot change. The one is a descriptor based on things someone has said or done of their own volition. One cannot stop or avoid being gay, but one can, with little effort, stop or avoid being a bigot. In addition, being gay doesn’t impinge on other people directly in a negative fashion, whereas being a bigot does. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/99 "2018-12-12T14:46:07Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > There are deaf people who want their kids to be deaf. There are deaf people who want their kids to be deaf? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![johnod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dc4da7/32.png) [@johnod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnod)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737/100 "2018-12-12T15:50:58Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > There are legitimate non-homophobic reasons to hope your kids are heterosexual. Because the world is cruel to non-heterosexuals, most people would hope to spare their kids from cruelty. But that’s not the only consideration. > > But do you really think _nobody_ hopes their kids are gay? > > I have to imagine at least some gay people hope their kids are gay. Because people want their kids to be like them. It’s a shared experience thing. > > There are deaf people who want their kids to be deaf. > > I hope my kids grow up liking math puzzles and comic books, even though my experience is that the world is often not very kind to kids like that (though comic books seem to be pretty mainstream these days) You may be right, but I would have to call those people incredibly selfish and stupid. Parents usually want what’s best for their kids, or at least good parents do. Wanting your kid to be deaf or gay just because you are, is incredibly self centered. Actually the more I think of it the less I find it plausible . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-hart-steps-down-from-hosting-the-oscars/825737.md?page=6)