The question still looms over the entertainment world of who is going to host the 91st Academy Awards. Long time comedian and actor Kevin Hart originally announced he was asked to partake in the amazing opportunity to host the Oscars, yet his past cost him the gig. Once it became known that Hart was going to host the awards show, his decade old homophobic tweets resurfaced on Twitter and other social media platforms. Because of this the Academy asked Hart to publicly apologize and he refused to do so; this ultimately caused him to give up the chance to host. The controversy continued when Ellen DeGeneres brought Hart on her show in order to discuss the matter. In summary, Hart didn’t feel the need to apologize for something he already apologized for throughout the last ten years and he is trying to keep the past in the past. DeGeneres even surprised many people by telling Hart she personally called the Academy to ask them to invite Hart back to host and as of right now, there has been no officially announced of Hart hosting the Oscars or not. DeGeneres further mentioned in her interview with Hart that she knows Hart personally and knows he has evolved as a comedian and learned his lesson with his previous words. Hart also admitted that isn’t him anymore and he has changed as well.
There are two sides to every controversy. Many understand Hart’s and DeGeneres’ perspective. Yes, Hart made the mistake making homophobic comments decades ago but he did take the initiative throughout his career to apologize and he understood his words were wrong. The fact that a gay TV show host invited him on her show in order for him to express his thoughts also speaks highly to the controversy. Also, everyone has a past and has done unquestionable things yet second chances should be allowed in such a scenario. There is an extremely high chance previous Oscar hosts have done or said rather controversial things, yet Hart’s became a rather public event on Twitter and other social media platforms.
Others can argue that Hart was in the wrong ten years ago and is still in the wrong today. They can further argue that DeGeneres should have not brought Hart to be interviewed due to this controversy and it only added fuel to the flame. Once a homophobe, always a homophobe tends to be the theme that has circled around social media the previous weeks. It can be argued that it is difficult to change an opinion that significant. As a society we have matured and advanced when it comes to homophobia and hopefully as the generations go by there will be less homophobic people. The entertainment world can often be a major platform for tge LGBTQ community due to their high level of influence and that fact that celebrities and other stars have their own stage to create an open dialogue on the matter. In general, DeGeneres was courageous enough to create this open dialogue with Hart and this allowed people all over the nation, and maybe even world, to have an opinion on the matter and discuss the intensity of homophobia today.