Just two days after being named host of the Academy Awards, Kevin Hart stepped down following an outcry over past homophobic tweets by the comedian.
Capping a swift and dramatic fallout, Hart wrote on Twitter just after midnight Friday that he was withdrawing as Oscars host because he didn91裸聊视频檛 want to be a distraction. 91裸聊视频淚 sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past,91裸聊视频� wrote Hart.
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Hart stepped aside just about an hour after refusing to apologize for tweets that resurfaced after he was announced as Oscars host on Tuesday. In a video on Instagram, Hart said the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences gave him an ultimatum: apologize or 91裸聊视频渨e91裸聊视频檙e going to have to move on and find another host.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚 chose to pass on the apology,91裸聊视频� Hart said. 91裸聊视频淭he reason why I passed is because I91裸聊视频檝e addressed this several times.91裸聊视频�
The film academy didn91裸聊视频檛 respond to messages Thursday evening.
Hart has since deleted some of the anti-gay tweets, mostly dated from 2009-2011. But they had already been screen-captured and been shared online. In 2011, he wrote in a since-deleted tweet: 91裸聊视频淵o if my son comes home & try91裸聊视频檚 2 play with my daughters doll house I91裸聊视频檓 going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice 91裸聊视频榮top that91裸聊视频檚 gay.91裸聊视频�
In an earlier post Thursday, Hart wrote on Instagram that critics should 91裸聊视频渟top being negative91裸聊视频� about his earlier anti-gay remarks.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檓 almost 40 years old. If you don91裸聊视频檛 believe that people change, grow, evolve? I don91裸聊视频檛 know what to tell you,91裸聊视频� said Hart, who added, in all-caps: 91裸聊视频淚 love everybody.91裸聊视频�
Hart91裸聊视频檚 attitudes about homosexuality were also a well-known part of his stand-up act. In the 2010 special 91裸聊视频淪eriously Funny,91裸聊视频� he said 91裸聊视频渙ne of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淜eep in mind, I91裸聊视频檓 not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, do what you want to do, but me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will,91裸聊视频� Hart said.
GLAAD, the advocacy group for LGBTQ rights, said Thursday that it reached out to Oscars broadcaster ABC, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and Hart91裸聊视频檚 management to 91裸聊视频渄iscuss Kevin91裸聊视频檚 anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and record.91裸聊视频�
Comedian and actor Billy Eichner said 91裸聊视频渁 simple, authentic apology showing any bit of understanding or remorse would have been so simple.91裸聊视频�
It91裸聊视频檚 not the first time an Oscars host has been derailed by anti-gay remarks. Ahead of the 2012 Academy Awards, producer Brett Ratner, who had been paired with host Eddie Murphy, resigned days after using a gay slur at a film screening. Murphy soon after exited, as well.
That year, a tried-and-true Oscars veteran 91裸聊视频� Billy Crystal 91裸聊视频� jumped in to save the show, hosting for his eighth time. This time, speculation has already been rampant that few in Hollywood want the gig, for which few win glowing reviews.
The film academy moved up this year91裸聊视频檚 ceremony to Feb. 24, giving producers little time to find a replacement.
The Associated Press
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