Nick Cannon Defends Kevin Hart By Posting Old Homophobic Tweets from Female Comedians
In an attempt to defend Kevin Hart, who stepped down from hosting the Academy Awards following a backlash over his past homophobic comments, Nick Cannon has resurfaced old tweets from Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler that he says also used homophobic language.
“Interesting,” Cannon, 38, tweeted on Friday evening alongside an old tweet of Handler’s from 2010. “I wonder if there was any backlash here…”
In the message, she wrote, “This is what a f— bird likes like when he flexes,” including a photo that is no longer available.
Cannon went on to share a 2012 tweet from Schumer, in which the comedian wrote, “Enjoy skyfall f—. I’m bout to get knee deep in Helen Hunt #thesessions.”
“I’m just saying… should we keep going???” he captioned the message.
He also resurfaced a 2010 tweet from Silverman — who recently said she cringes at “material I did 10 years ago” — where she wrote, “I dont mean this in a hateful way but the new bachelorette’s a f—.”
“And I f— love Wreck it Ralph!!! ]]>🤦🏾he wrote alongside the tweet, referring to the movie Ralph Breaks the Internet. He included an emoji of a black man and the mars symbol, which is used to signify the male sex.
Speaking about her past mistakes, Silverman recently told The Guardian, “All I can do is learn from it, be changed forever by it, and do what I can to make it right going forward.”
“Certainly stuff that I did 10 or 15 years ago, I cringe at now,” she continued, adding that she now sees the jokes “very differently.”
In an interview with Variety published in November, Silverman also addressed the fact that she doesn’t mind holding herself accountable to her past remarks.
“I feel like unless you can admit to those things, you can’t be changed by them and you can’t even forgive yourself for them,” she shared.
Reps for Schumer, Silverman and Handler did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment about Cannon’s tweets.
In response to a fan who asked him to“audit” his own tweets, Cannon replied, “Nope!!”
“You know I’ve been saying f— up s— since twitter started! I don’t play that politically correct bulls—! F— politics!! Only Truth!” he added.
However, as another Twitter user who looked through Cannon’s old tweets pointed out, theWild ‘n Outcreator and host previously spoke out against comedians and black men for making homophobic remarks in the past.
In one tweet from 2010, Cannon wrote, “Honest question: why are we as Black men so homophobic?” In a 2012 message, Cannon remarked, “If your best joke includes ‘gay’ or ‘F—’ you should be kicked of [sic] Twitter this ain’t the 3d grade!”
“Idgi, @NickCannon. If what you said in 2010 and 2012 still holds, why not hold Kevin accountable?” the Twitter users wrote, before addressing the tweets from Schumer, Silverman and Handler.
“I don’t like any of the white women you ‘exposed’ lol. So do you. But how you gonna go after white women because a Black man was wrong, @NickCannon ?” the social media user added.
RELATED: Kevin Hart Once Admitted Homophobic Remarks Can ‘Throw You Under the Bus’: We’re ‘Too Sensitive’
Shortly after it was announced earlier this week that Hart would be hosting the prestigious awards show, Cannon shared asupportive messagefor his pal online.
“Couldn’t be happier for this a—!! @kevinhart4real,” Cannon tweeted. “Real talk my bro deserves every bit of what God is blessing him with. The hardest working, kindest and most genuine dude… “
He was also supportive of a video Hart posted after the backlash had begun, where the Night School star shared he wouldn’t be apologizing for his remarks because he already “addressed this several times.”
“We with you regardless!!!” Cannon wrote,commenting on Hart’s Instagram video. “You know how we feel about people trying to control us anyway!!”
Hart did eventually go on to apologize.
“I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past,” he tweeted shortly after he shared he would be stepping down from hosting the Oscars.
“I’m sorry that I hurt people.. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart,” Hart added. “Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again.”
