IN an Instagram post Saturday, Kevin Hart defended his latest response to resurfaced, anti-gay tweets on the NBC daytime talk show. Hart said, once again, during the nearly hourlong chat, that he previously apologized for homophobic remarks and asserted that the resurfacing of his past anti-gay tweets constituted an “attack” on his career. “When did we get to the point where we forgot that we all learn, then we all have the ability to grow and with that growth comes a wealth of knowledge,” Hart wrote. “You can’t change without an understanding of what GROWTH means.” The caption accompanied a picture that included more text, where Hart wrote, “Basketball players aren’t great until they LEARN how to play the game correctly. Teachers are great teachers when they LEARN how to get thru to kids correctly.” He ended the text with a pointed remark: “A news anchor or a journalist does not start at the top... they have to LEARN and develop to be great at their job.” Several prominent journalists, including CNN’s Don Lemon and Buzzfeed News’ David Mack, have criticized Hart’s response to the controversy over his past homophobic remarks, as well as his “Ellen” appearance. Hart’s reference to “a news anchor” may have referred to Lemon. During his appearance on “Ellen,” DeGeneres revealed that she had called the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to ask whether Hart could still host. In her rendition of the conversation, the Academy was open to the possibility. Hart responded that he was “evaluating this conversation” and would come to a decision later. “This is a conversation I needed to have, I’m glad that I had it here, and I’m glad that it was as authentic and real as I could have hoped that it would be. So, let me assess, just to sit in this space and really think, and you and I will talk before anything else,” he said. It’s been an eventful month for Hart. The comedian has a new film on the way and is fresh off a stand-up tour in Australia that broke records, but those haven’t been the headlines for him. When the 39-year-old star of “The Upside” was tapped to host the 91st Oscars last month, his hire prompted fierce backlash from the LGBTQ community. After first refusing to apologize for the material, he eventually did so while stepping down from the position. “When I go on that stage, it will be because I’ve somehow figured out a way to win the Oscar,” Hart said during Variety’s “Playback” podcast. “Somehow I’ll get to the stage but it’s not going to be in this way because it just comes with such a weird cloud at this point.”(SD-Agencies) |