Ellen defends Kevin Hart By: Lanie Tobie

In 2009 America was a very different world, some remember it as the best year of their lives and for others, it was the worst. For Kevin Hart, it was the beginning of his very successful career as a comedian, actor, and producer. Nearly ten years later, Hart was offered the hosting position for the 2019 Oscars. After he was officially sworn in as the host for the Oscars, old tweets that were offensive towards the LGBTQ+ community started to resurface from Hart’s old

Twitter account. Hart apologized for the tweets when they first resurfaced in 2009, 2011, and again in 2015. His tweets again resurfaced hours after Hart was announced as the next Oscars host, as he was faced with a severe backlash from many. Two days after the news broke, Hart went to his Instagram where he posted a video stating that the academy had given him an ultimatum, publicly apologize for his resurfaced tweets or step down as host of the 2019 Oscars.

Hart then went on in the video to say, “I passed on the apology … I’ve addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. I’ve addressed it. I’ve spoken on it. I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were," publicly declaring that he was going to have to step down as host and refuse to apologize. On January 4, 2019, Hart appeared on the popular daytime talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show nearly a month after all the drama happened and things had ​ ​ started to settle down. To begin the interview Hart started by saying, “These ten years are just being ignored...and nobody is saying ‘guys this is ten years ago...nobody is finding the apologies.” Ellen stated that she thinks that Hart should reconsider hosting, even going as far as to call the academy. Ellen went on the tell Hart that he couldn't let the “trolls” win and he should still host the Oscars. Ellen, being an LGBTQ+ activist, is receiving backlash for supporting Hart’s “homophobia”, but her ultimate response was that times have changed and yes, he shouldn't have said those things but he has apologized and we should all accept his apology and frankly, move on. I asked Alvin Wells about his opinions on this and how the times have changed. “You have to be careful about what you say these days,” he says and he even went on to say, “He shouldn't have said those things but back then it was a different climate and to him, it was a joke.” But many people do not agree with this viewpoint and argue that Hart himself has not changed over these past ten years and no matter if he were to apologize now, he still shouldn't have the right to host the Oscars. Hart has since stated that he would not be going back to host the Oscars and says he is “done talking about his past.” So has the climate of comedy and what can be considered a joke changed? Or is Hart right in not publicly apologizing again and taking this opportunity to stand up against haters and show that he truly is done talking about it.