Kevin Hart almost hosted the Oscars back in 2019 but was forced to step down after homophobic remarks he made on stage and on social media caused an outcry. Since then, Hart has refused to host the ceremony, and he’s now warning other comics to steer clear of the event.
“Whatever little hope you had, I want to destroy it right now,” Hart recently told Sky News while promoting his new Netflix movie Lift. “Those gigs aren’t good gigs for comics. It’s no shot to the Oscars, no shot to the Globes or anything else. Those just aren’t comedy-friendly environments anymore.”
While Hart is clearly disillusioned by the notion of comics hosting award ceremonies, he does have tremendous respect for the ones who pulled it off:
“Shout out to those that have cracked the code and done it right early on, you know, the Chris Rock’s of the world, the Billy Crystal’s of the world, the girls we’ve had like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler. Ricky Gervais. There’s a lot of people that understand that if you’re not an industry comic, meaning a comic that has the relationships of all [the guests], then those rooms are very cold.”
Hart also had sympathy for Jo Koy, who got raked over the coals for his Golden Globe performance particularly for cracking a joke about Taylor Swift.
“It’s too much pressure on the idea of a comic and what’s jokes and not jokes,” Hart said about working award crowds. “So, it’s tough.”
(Via Sky News)
