Kevin Hart has dropped a bombshell by abruptly withdrawing as host of next year’s Oscars, over homophobic tweets he posted nearly 10 years ago.
Two days after announcing he had landed what he called a dream gig, the comedian and actor said that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had told him to choose between apologising for the tweets or losing the job.
Hart said the tweets were from nearly a decade ago and that he had 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.”
On Twitter, Hart apologised to the LGBTQ community for what he called “my insensitive words from my past”.
In the tweets from 2009 and 2010, he wrote posts that included comments such as “stop that gay s***”, and he insulted others by calling them gay and “fag”.
“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..”
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 did so for two consecutive years.
Whoever hosts it will face pressure to boost audience ratings for the show, which had an all-time low of 26.5 million viewers last year, compared to 43 million in 2014.