ELLEN REVEALS SHE CALLED ACADEMY IN BID TO RE-HIRE KEVIN HART AS OSCARS HOST

Actor and comedian Kevin Hart says he is reconsidering whether to host the Academy Awards. Hart stepped down last month, after facing criticism over homophobic tweets from several years ago that resurfaced online.

He previously apologized for the tweets, and did so again in December. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Hart said he has grown as a comedian.

“I understand why people would be upset which is why I made the choice to not use them anymore, because that was wrong,” he said. “That was a guy who was just looking for laughs and that was stupid. I don’t do that anymore.”

I believe in forgiveness. I believe in second chances. And I believe in @KevinHart4real. pic.twitter.com/oJxfGXhU4P
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) ٤ يناير ٢٠١٩

Hart said he felt under attack and did not want to be the center of attention at the ceremony. After Hart’s apology, DeGeneres revealed she called the Academy.

“I called them, I said ‘Kevin’s on. I have no idea if he wants to come back and host. What are your thoughts?’ And they were like, ‘oh my God, we want him to host. We feel like maybe he was misunderstood or it was handled wrong or we said the wrong thing. But we want him to host.Wwhatever we can do we would be thrilled and he should host the Oscars'”

DeGeneress told Hart he should take the job, to prevent his critics from winning. He said he would think about it.

The Academy has not commented but the interview sparked some outrage on Twitter

I feel like if you’re not homophobic anymore, you shouldn’t mind apologizing for your past homophobia again and again and again. I don’t want to hear a hostile retelling of how we didn’t hear your meager apology the first time.

— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) ٤ يناير ٢٠١٩

I expected Ellen to actually ask Kevin Hart some sort of challenging question. Anything, really. But instead, it was just one long monologue from Kevin interspersed with Ellen’s approval. That interview made me miss the previous talk show hosts that asked tough questions.