In 2017, Kevin Hart made the list of highest paid comedians in the world. The famously short, off-color stand-up artist makes the big bucks with his buddy cop films and sold out shows that have fans slapping their knees with laughter.
But there are a lot of things that aren't funny at all about Kevin Hart. Like the fact that — in his 2017
memoir entitled "I Can't Make This Up" —
he admitted to being physically abusive to his first wife Torrei. Or that he once said that having a gay son was basically the worst thing he could imagine. To most right-minded people Hart's behavior is troubling, but it is especially worrying for women and gay men who have found themselves a target of his hand or humor.
That's why it is
shocking that in a year marked by the #MeToo movement and great Oscar-worthy LGBTQ films, that the Academy would select Mr. Hart to be their host for this years Oscars.
OK, one might be able to brush off Hart's anti-gay comments as comic filler, though is homophobia ever funny? But what isn't up for debate is the fact that domestic abuse is never funny, nor is it forgivable. And Kevin Hart, by his own admission, is guilty of it.
Kevin may have moved on from those dark days where fights between him and his ex-wife would require police intervention and land him in jail. And maybe he was lying when he said having a gay son is his "biggest fear." But in today's climate allowing someone like him to represent the Academy is neither acceptable or appropriate.
The Academy should rescind their invite to Kevin Hart and invite someone who hasn't abused a woman and who has shown respect to the LGBTQ community. Sign the petition and tell the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to find a new host.