The brief timeline of Kevin Hart’s 2019 Oscars Twitter fiasco

Kevin Hart Oscars Instagram tweets

Comedian and actor Kevin Hart was supposed to host the 2019 Oscars, but on Friday he stepped down from the role after a slew of old homophobic tweets resurfaced.

A number of tweets posted some ten years ago were shared by Guardian US journalist Benjamin Lee, and other users on the social network. Many of the tweets screenshot in the post were deleted on Thursday.

Buzzfeed reporter Adam B. Vary too trawled Hart’s Twitter account more thoroughly on Wednesday — when he was announced as the Oscars host — highlighting every instance that “Kevin Hart tweeted ‘fag,’ ‘homo,’ or ‘gay.'”

“It was…a lot,” Vary added.

In the wake of the brewing internet storm, Hart responded on Instagram early Friday morning, asking people to “stop looking for reasons to be negative…stop searching for reasons to be angry…”

“I am truly happy people… there is nothing that you can do to change that….NOTHING,” he added in the confessional-style clip.


View this post on Instagram

Stop looking for reasons to be negative…Stop searching for reasons to be angry….I swear I wish you guys could see/feel/understand the mental place that I am in. I am truly happy people….there is nothing that you can do to change that…NOTHING. I work hard on a daily basis to spread positivity to all….with that being said. If u want to search my history or past and anger yourselves with what u find that is fine with me. I’m almost 40 years old and I’m in love with the man that I am becoming. You LIVE and YOU LEARN & YOU GROW & YOU MATURE. I live to Love….Please take your negative energy and put it into something constructive. Please….What’s understood should never have to be said. I LOVE EVERYBODY…..ONCE AGAIN EVERYBODY. If you choose to not believe me then that’s on you….Have a beautiful day

A post shared by Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real) on

The Instagram video has amassed more than 780 000 views at the time of writing.

The Motion Picture Academy however didn’t find this video, or his tweets, amusing.

In another Instagram post published hours later, Hart noted that the Academy had asked him to issue an apology to those he offended or risk getting axed as the host entirely.


View this post on Instagram

I know who I am & so do the people closest to me. #LiveLoveLaugh

A post shared by Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real) on

He failed to issue an apology in the video, claiming that he’s “done it” before and is now in a “completely different place in my life”.

Two hours after he published the video, Hart announced on Twitter that he will step down as the host of the 2019 Oscars.

“I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists,” he tweeted Friday.

He did, however, “sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community” for what he deemed “insensitive words from my past.”

“I’m sorry that I hurt people.. 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,” he added in a subsequent update.

Opinions on the fiasco are mixed.

Many Twitter users believed that Hart had nothing to apologize for.

“This was your dream job. Everyone make mistakes,” one user wrote.

Others confirmed they’re no longer planning to watch next year’s show after Hart stepped down.

While some rejected Hart’s apology entirely. “Maybe in time we can forgive but not today,” wrote one user.

Kevin Hart continues to trend worldwide on Twitter at the time of writing. The Academy has yet to announce who will be replacing Hart as the host of the 2019 Oscars.

Feature image: screenshot, Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4Real) via Instagram

Andy Walker, former editor
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