GLAAD issue statement on Kevin Hart quitting Oscars hosting stint

GLAAD has issued a statement on Kevin Hart stepping down as Oscars host amid anger over a series of homophobic tweets.

“Kevin Hart shouldn’t have stepped down; he should have stepped up,” GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement.

“Hart’s apology to LGBTQ people is an important step forward, but he missed a real opportunity to use his platform and the Oscars stage to build unity and awareness. We would still welcome that conversation with him. The Academy has recently made significant strides in featuring diverse talent onstage and they should now double down on that commitment as they look for a new host.”

The comedian and actor said he had chosen to step down from the position “because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists”.

“I sincerely apologise to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past," he added.

Hart had previously made a series of "jokes" that were deemed homophobic, including Tweets posted between 2009-11 which have since been deleted. One read: “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay’.”

During a stand-up show, he said: “One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay,” he said. ”That’s a fear. Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will. Now with that being said, I don’t know if I handled my son’s first gay moment correctly. Every kid has a gay moment but when it happens, you’ve got to nip it in the bud!”

In 2015, Hart revealed that he turned down a role in 2008’s Tropic Thunder because the character was gay and his behaviour was “real flagrant”, before adding that he’d never be able to play a gay character in the future.

In an Instagram post before stepping down as Oscars host, Hart spoke out against the “negative energy” of the criticism towards the comments, asking people to “stop searching for reasons to be angry”. He said he was almost 40 years old and was “in love with the man I’m becoming”.