LOS ANGELES, Dec 7, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US comedian and actor Kevin Hart
abruptly withdrew from hosting the Oscars Thursday night amid flack for past
homophobic and anti-gay tweets.
Two days after announcing he had landed what he called a dream gig, Hart
said that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had told him to
choose between apologizing for the tweets or losing the job. Hart said the
tweets were from nearly a decade ago and that he has matured since then.
“I chose to pass on the apology. The reason why I passed is because I’ve
addressed this several times,” Hart, 39, said during a video posted to
Instagram.
“I’ve said who I am now versus who I was then. I’ve done it. I’m not going
to continue to go back and tap into the days of old when I’ve moved on and
I’m in a completely different place in my life,” Hart said.
On Twitter, Hart apologized to the LGBTQ community for what he called “my
insensitive words from my past.”
“I’m sorry that I hurt people,” he added. “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 Academy must now find a new host for the 91st Academy Awards in
February.
The “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” star was to have hosted the glitzy
event after talk show host Jimmy Kimmel held the gig for two consecutive
years.
Whoever hosts it will face pressure to boost audience ratings for the
annual show that will be held on February 24 in Hollywood and which had an
all-time low of 26.5 million viewers last year, compared to 43 million in
2014.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has said that it was
introducing a number of changes to improve viewership, including shortening
the show to three hours and handing out some of the awards during commercial
breaks.