Ellen DeGeneres faced a backlash for defending Kevin Hart amid the latter’s homophobic tweets.
Last year, Hart’s homophobic tweets resurfaced after it was announced that he would be hosting the Oscars. Kevin Hart posted the tweet in question in 2011.
Kevin Hart talks about his homophobic statements during comedy gigs
In 2015, Hart told Rolling Stone that his homophobic tweets and gay jokes during his stand-up comedy gigs are all about his fears. However, he has stopped doing them.
“It’s about my fear. I’m thinking about what I did as a dad, did I do something wrong, and if I did, what was it? Not that I’m not gonna love my son or think about him any differently. I wouldn’t tell that joke today, because when I said it, the times weren’t as sensitive as they are now. I think we love to make big deals out of things that aren’t necessarily big deals because we can. These things become public spectacles. So why set yourself up for failure?” he said.
Ellen DeGeneres supports comedian
Shortly after his tweet resurfaced, Hart announced his decision to back out as the host of the awards show. However, DeGeneres immediately came to her defense.
The funny woman asked Hart to appear on The Ellen Show. And she revealed that she spoke with the members of the Academy to vouch for her fellow comedian.
“I called them, I said, ‘Kevin’s on, I have no idea if he wants to come back and host, but what are your thoughts?’ And they were like, ‘Oh my God, we want him to host! We feel like that maybe he misunderstood or it was handled wrong. Maybe we said the wrong thing, but we want him to host. Whatever we can do we would be thrilled. And he should host the Oscars,'” DeGeneres told Hart.
Ellen DeGeneres thinks Kevin Hart deserves a second chance
Portia de Rossi’s wife also said that as a gay person, she’s sensitive to all the homophobic tweets and statements. But DeGeneres said that since Hart already apologized and he regrets what he said, he deserves a second chance.
On her Twitter account, DeGeneres continued to defend Kevin Hart amid the backlashes that they both received. She declared that she is in Hart’s corner.
Ellen DeGeneres backlash
However, several people slammed DeGeneres for supporting and defending Hart considering that she’s an ally for the LGBTQIA+ community.
“Ellen’s show is basically the embodiment of respectability politics, so using it as a platform to absolve Kevin Hart on our behalf sounds pretty much on brand. Her sitcom allowed her to do something radical, which she suffered for, & she’s been running away from that ever since,” Twitter user @bortlb said.
“This whole Ellen/Kevin Hart thing is a perfect example of how privilege and constant praise distorts a person’s reality so much that they perceive any criticism, however valid, to be an attack on their entire livelihood,” Twitter user @eleanorebate said.
Kevin Hart still opted not to host the Oscars last year despite DeGeneres’ support.
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