Kevin Hart CONFIRMS he will host the 2019 Oscars (will BGOL "hate" or "congratulate"?)
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With Kevin Hart’s downfall, hosting the Oscars got harder
By LINDSEY BAHRtoday
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2017 file photo, Kevin Hart arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" in Los Angeles. Hart on Thursday night, Dec. 6, 2018, announced he was bowing out of hosting the 91st Academy Awards, after public outrage over old anti-gay tweets reached a tipping point. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The “most thankless job in town” just got even more difficult.
The Oscars have a longstanding host problem, but Kevin Hart’s swift downfall over old anti-gay tweets has led to bigger questions about the gig and the liability of social media histories.
It’s just the latest controversy for the organization that puts on the Academy Awards, which is trying to combat declining ratings for its marquee event while weathering the pressure of being a focal point for the shortcomings of the entertainment industry as a whole.
“I think it’s embarrassing,” Matthew Belloni, the editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter, said about the academy’s decision to pick Hart. “It shows that they either didn’t vet this host properly, or they did vet him and didn’t think this would be an issue. And both are a little troubling.”
Hart seemed to fit the bill for what the academy was looking for.
“He checks all the boxes for a show like the Oscars,” Belloni said. “He’s a legitimate movie star. He’s a funny guy and can handle the stand-up element of the show. And he has a gigantic social following. And to the academy, that’s important. They want someone who can bring a new audience to the show.”
But Oscars hosts have always been subjected to a lot of scrutiny.
Poor or even mediocre performances can haunt people for years (Anne Hathaway and James Franco). Off-color jokes have a way of festering in the cultural consciousness (think of Seth MacFarlane’s “we saw your boobs” song, or Chris Rock’s Asian jokes). And even when things go decently enough, everyone is handed the right envelope and nobody walks away offended, the hosts can still be blamed for poor ratings.
“Oscars host has become a not very desirable job in Hollywood. Very few people see an upside,” Belloni said. “You put a huge target on your back.”
People have stepped down from being the public face of the event amid controversy, as producer Brett Ratner did in 2011 for anti-gay slurs. But Hart’s case is a little different. Ratner’s offensive remarks came after he had secured the gig. Hart’s tweets were from almost a decade ago and were well known.
But in 2018, an unsavory social media past can cost someone their job. Just this past summer, the Walt Disney Co. fired director James Gunn from the third “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie for old tweets in which he joked about subjects including rape and pedophilia. As with Hart, the problematic tweets were amplified by social media outrage.
Immediately after Hart was confirmed as host on Tuesday night, some journalists began tweeting reminders of Hart’s past comments. By Thursday morning, a few publications had written articles about them. The outrage escalated, Hart commented but did not apologize, stoking even more outrage, which culminated with Hart’s announcement on Thursday night that he was stepping down as host of the 91st Academy Awards.
As the dust settles, the situation has proved vexing for some in the entertainment business. Actor D.L. Hughley commended Hart for his decision.
“A Comedian says something that offends people and refuses to apologize?” Hughley tweeted. ”(Expletive) ’em if they can’t take a joke! Well done #KevinHart.” Snoop Dogg posted an even more colorful Instagram video in support of Hart.
The advocacy organization GLAAD wishes Hart hadn’t stepped down, however.
“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,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
The film academy has yet to address Hart’s departure. Hart said the film academy told him he had to apologize or he’d lose the gig. He bowed out on his own, and with an apology.
Now everyone has an opinion about who should be named host. A woman? A comedian? Not a comedian? Someone in the LGBTQ community? All of the above?
Many keep coming back to Whoopi Goldberg, who has hosted the awards four times. Some have said Ellen DeGeneres, who hosted one of the Oscars’ highest-rated shows, or Tom Hanks, who has a longstanding academy relationship.
Others have said Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele, Will Smith or Lin-Manuel Miranda. Busy Phillips threw her own name out there (“I AM AVAILABLE,” she tweeted). Philips also proposed Issa Rae, Sarah Silverman, Ali Wong, Samantha Bee, Robin Thede and Aisha Tyler, or “any other woman working in Hollywood right now who wants to.” Stephen King suggested Patton Oswalt (He’s “funny, sharp-tongued, and he knows film,” King tweeted.) Some have even proposed Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty. Or no host at all, which has been done several times before, and as recently as 1989.
But the film academy will need to move quickly. The 91st Oscars are less than three months out.
By LINDSEY BAHRtoday
FILE - In this Dec. 11, 2017 file photo, Kevin Hart arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" in Los Angeles. Hart on Thursday night, Dec. 6, 2018, announced he was bowing out of hosting the 91st Academy Awards, after public outrage over old anti-gay tweets reached a tipping point. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The “most thankless job in town” just got even more difficult.
The Oscars have a longstanding host problem, but Kevin Hart’s swift downfall over old anti-gay tweets has led to bigger questions about the gig and the liability of social media histories.
It’s just the latest controversy for the organization that puts on the Academy Awards, which is trying to combat declining ratings for its marquee event while weathering the pressure of being a focal point for the shortcomings of the entertainment industry as a whole.
“I think it’s embarrassing,” Matthew Belloni, the editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter, said about the academy’s decision to pick Hart. “It shows that they either didn’t vet this host properly, or they did vet him and didn’t think this would be an issue. And both are a little troubling.”
Hart seemed to fit the bill for what the academy was looking for.
“He checks all the boxes for a show like the Oscars,” Belloni said. “He’s a legitimate movie star. He’s a funny guy and can handle the stand-up element of the show. And he has a gigantic social following. And to the academy, that’s important. They want someone who can bring a new audience to the show.”
But Oscars hosts have always been subjected to a lot of scrutiny.
Poor or even mediocre performances can haunt people for years (Anne Hathaway and James Franco). Off-color jokes have a way of festering in the cultural consciousness (think of Seth MacFarlane’s “we saw your boobs” song, or Chris Rock’s Asian jokes). And even when things go decently enough, everyone is handed the right envelope and nobody walks away offended, the hosts can still be blamed for poor ratings.
“Oscars host has become a not very desirable job in Hollywood. Very few people see an upside,” Belloni said. “You put a huge target on your back.”
People have stepped down from being the public face of the event amid controversy, as producer Brett Ratner did in 2011 for anti-gay slurs. But Hart’s case is a little different. Ratner’s offensive remarks came after he had secured the gig. Hart’s tweets were from almost a decade ago and were well known.
But in 2018, an unsavory social media past can cost someone their job. Just this past summer, the Walt Disney Co. fired director James Gunn from the third “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie for old tweets in which he joked about subjects including rape and pedophilia. As with Hart, the problematic tweets were amplified by social media outrage.
Immediately after Hart was confirmed as host on Tuesday night, some journalists began tweeting reminders of Hart’s past comments. By Thursday morning, a few publications had written articles about them. The outrage escalated, Hart commented but did not apologize, stoking even more outrage, which culminated with Hart’s announcement on Thursday night that he was stepping down as host of the 91st Academy Awards.
As the dust settles, the situation has proved vexing for some in the entertainment business. Actor D.L. Hughley commended Hart for his decision.
“A Comedian says something that offends people and refuses to apologize?” Hughley tweeted. ”(Expletive) ’em if they can’t take a joke! Well done #KevinHart.” Snoop Dogg posted an even more colorful Instagram video in support of Hart.
The advocacy organization GLAAD wishes Hart hadn’t stepped down, however.
“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,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
The film academy has yet to address Hart’s departure. Hart said the film academy told him he had to apologize or he’d lose the gig. He bowed out on his own, and with an apology.
Now everyone has an opinion about who should be named host. A woman? A comedian? Not a comedian? Someone in the LGBTQ community? All of the above?
Many keep coming back to Whoopi Goldberg, who has hosted the awards four times. Some have said Ellen DeGeneres, who hosted one of the Oscars’ highest-rated shows, or Tom Hanks, who has a longstanding academy relationship.
Others have said Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele, Will Smith or Lin-Manuel Miranda. Busy Phillips threw her own name out there (“I AM AVAILABLE,” she tweeted). Philips also proposed Issa Rae, Sarah Silverman, Ali Wong, Samantha Bee, Robin Thede and Aisha Tyler, or “any other woman working in Hollywood right now who wants to.” Stephen King suggested Patton Oswalt (He’s “funny, sharp-tongued, and he knows film,” King tweeted.) Some have even proposed Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty. Or no host at all, which has been done several times before, and as recently as 1989.
But the film academy will need to move quickly. The 91st Oscars are less than three months out.
Kevin Hart isn't the problem. The Oscars are the problem.
Michael PhillipsContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Congratulations to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for putting out a fire it personally started by offering Kevin Hart the 2019 Oscars hosting gig.
Congratulations, and good luck solving your real problem.
ADVERTISING
inRead invented by Teads
At the moment, the Oscars epitomize the industry they were created to promote: confused. Defensive. Chagrined, temporarily. Buckling under the weight of nearly a century of sexism, misogyny, racism and fashion mishaps.
Can an American tradition nearly twice the age of the Super Bowl ever regain its relevance and its ratings?
L
To recap: Wednesday Kevin Hart was announced as the next Oscars host. On Thursday, refusing to muster a legitimate apology for homophobic slurs in tweets and stand-up routines past, the popular comedian, movie star and self-branding expert “resigned.” Between Lena Dunham and Kevin Hart, the art of the apology has rarely seen a less skillful couple of days.
Eventually Hart apologized, more or less, and by doing so he did all of us a favor.
He spared us the prospect of a middling, motor-mouth talent with a massive social media presence sweating to keep a bloated, antiquated hunk of network television under three hours.
He spared us the possibility of an opening monologue nervously acknowledging or conspicuously avoiding the objectionable comments he made a few years ago, back when times were less “sensitive” (his word), back when Hart wasn’t evolved enough to know better, way, way back in his early 30s.
Comedy’s a rough game. Risking offense is part of that game. Pick a better potential Oscar host, from Keegan-Michael Key to Jordan Peele to Sarah Silverman to Tiffany Haddish: There’s a good chance you’ll find a YouTube clip or an Instagram post constituting grounds for an apology, whether extorted by the academy or not.
But the academy has a far more serious problem than its misguided, un-vetted initial choice of Kevin Hart as Oscar emcee.
The problem is the irrelevant chore that the Oscars have become.
The Feb. 24 Oscars telecast marks the 91st edition of the tradition, begun in 1929 with a simple, 15-minute ceremony held at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel. Last year’s run, the 90th, garnered the worst TV ratings since TV came into the picture.
The 2018 show, the second to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, was far from the worst recent Oscars bash. But we’re talking about a starry night now contending with a ridiculous degree of light pollution, emitted by other entertainment options.
If “Black Panther” wins the Oscar this year, that’ll be different. That’ll be what a lot of people want, including those inside the academy’s Board of Governors; inside ABC-TV (home of the Oscars telecast); and inside the ABC’s corporate owner, Disney, which runs Marvel. Which made “Black Panther.” Which was a huge, ratings-friendly hit.
The old world is gone. For the movies, it’s a bigger, broader, more interesting world now. It’s getting there, anyway.
Six years ago, Oscars host and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane sang “We Saw Your Boobs” in the opening number, and the look on Charlize Theron’s face — even if it was prerecorded — was like a message from the near future: Screw this boys’ club humor. Enough. Time’s up.
T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman, left) and Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) face off in "Black Panther." (Matt Kennedy/Marvel Studios / TNS)
Four months ago, the academy’s governors voted to create a new award to coexist alongside the “outstanding motion picture” category, recognizing “outstanding achievement in popular film.” Enough with the “Spotlight”s and the “Moonlight”s and the “Shape of Water”s and all the other big Oscar winners that were, in many respects, small. Where’s the award for the stockholder-friendly $200 million franchise item?
The “popular” award, reportedly ordered by ABC-TV for the purposes of the show’s declining ratings, failed to establish criteria or a voting process or eligibility or what the hell “popular” means. For now it’s on hold.
These and other economically driven maneuvers came at a time when the academy got more serious about diversifying its voting ranks, at long last. That much the Oscars are doing right. It’s going to be progressively less of a white male hangout, and we may see a shift in what sorts of movies reap the awards in future years.
Short of a merger with the looser, hipper, more nimble Golden Globes, an annual event that has out-hosted and out-funned the Oscars for years now, I wonder if there’s any way to creatively reactivate the Oscars. We’re living in a time of perpetual, distracting, cheap cliffhangers provided by a ratings-conscious president. America’s relationship to many of its long-standing institutions, from the U.S. government to the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Emmys and the Grammys — it’s all eroding. And maybe inevitable.
Meantime I offer these reminders:
The Oscars should run 2.5 hours. At the most.
The Oscars should not implement a “people’s choice” or “best big hit that didn’t stink” award. Ever.
The Oscars should consider parting ways with ABC. By becoming less of a thing, pressurized by ratings expectations, it might just become a thing that feels new, not old.
Finally: The Oscars never should’ve gone after Kevin Hart. Homophobia aside, he’s a medium-grade talent. There’s enough medium-grade talents on that stage every year as it is.
Michael PhillipsContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Congratulations to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for putting out a fire it personally started by offering Kevin Hart the 2019 Oscars hosting gig.
Congratulations, and good luck solving your real problem.
ADVERTISING
inRead invented by Teads
At the moment, the Oscars epitomize the industry they were created to promote: confused. Defensive. Chagrined, temporarily. Buckling under the weight of nearly a century of sexism, misogyny, racism and fashion mishaps.
Can an American tradition nearly twice the age of the Super Bowl ever regain its relevance and its ratings?
L
To recap: Wednesday Kevin Hart was announced as the next Oscars host. On Thursday, refusing to muster a legitimate apology for homophobic slurs in tweets and stand-up routines past, the popular comedian, movie star and self-branding expert “resigned.” Between Lena Dunham and Kevin Hart, the art of the apology has rarely seen a less skillful couple of days.
Eventually Hart apologized, more or less, and by doing so he did all of us a favor.
He spared us the prospect of a middling, motor-mouth talent with a massive social media presence sweating to keep a bloated, antiquated hunk of network television under three hours.
He spared us the possibility of an opening monologue nervously acknowledging or conspicuously avoiding the objectionable comments he made a few years ago, back when times were less “sensitive” (his word), back when Hart wasn’t evolved enough to know better, way, way back in his early 30s.
Comedy’s a rough game. Risking offense is part of that game. Pick a better potential Oscar host, from Keegan-Michael Key to Jordan Peele to Sarah Silverman to Tiffany Haddish: There’s a good chance you’ll find a YouTube clip or an Instagram post constituting grounds for an apology, whether extorted by the academy or not.
But the academy has a far more serious problem than its misguided, un-vetted initial choice of Kevin Hart as Oscar emcee.
The problem is the irrelevant chore that the Oscars have become.
The Feb. 24 Oscars telecast marks the 91st edition of the tradition, begun in 1929 with a simple, 15-minute ceremony held at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel. Last year’s run, the 90th, garnered the worst TV ratings since TV came into the picture.
The 2018 show, the second to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, was far from the worst recent Oscars bash. But we’re talking about a starry night now contending with a ridiculous degree of light pollution, emitted by other entertainment options.
If “Black Panther” wins the Oscar this year, that’ll be different. That’ll be what a lot of people want, including those inside the academy’s Board of Governors; inside ABC-TV (home of the Oscars telecast); and inside the ABC’s corporate owner, Disney, which runs Marvel. Which made “Black Panther.” Which was a huge, ratings-friendly hit.
The old world is gone. For the movies, it’s a bigger, broader, more interesting world now. It’s getting there, anyway.
Six years ago, Oscars host and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane sang “We Saw Your Boobs” in the opening number, and the look on Charlize Theron’s face — even if it was prerecorded — was like a message from the near future: Screw this boys’ club humor. Enough. Time’s up.
T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman, left) and Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) face off in "Black Panther." (Matt Kennedy/Marvel Studios / TNS)
Four months ago, the academy’s governors voted to create a new award to coexist alongside the “outstanding motion picture” category, recognizing “outstanding achievement in popular film.” Enough with the “Spotlight”s and the “Moonlight”s and the “Shape of Water”s and all the other big Oscar winners that were, in many respects, small. Where’s the award for the stockholder-friendly $200 million franchise item?
The “popular” award, reportedly ordered by ABC-TV for the purposes of the show’s declining ratings, failed to establish criteria or a voting process or eligibility or what the hell “popular” means. For now it’s on hold.
These and other economically driven maneuvers came at a time when the academy got more serious about diversifying its voting ranks, at long last. That much the Oscars are doing right. It’s going to be progressively less of a white male hangout, and we may see a shift in what sorts of movies reap the awards in future years.
Short of a merger with the looser, hipper, more nimble Golden Globes, an annual event that has out-hosted and out-funned the Oscars for years now, I wonder if there’s any way to creatively reactivate the Oscars. We’re living in a time of perpetual, distracting, cheap cliffhangers provided by a ratings-conscious president. America’s relationship to many of its long-standing institutions, from the U.S. government to the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Emmys and the Grammys — it’s all eroding. And maybe inevitable.
Meantime I offer these reminders:
The Oscars should run 2.5 hours. At the most.
The Oscars should not implement a “people’s choice” or “best big hit that didn’t stink” award. Ever.
The Oscars should consider parting ways with ABC. By becoming less of a thing, pressurized by ratings expectations, it might just become a thing that feels new, not old.
Finally: The Oscars never should’ve gone after Kevin Hart. Homophobia aside, he’s a medium-grade talent. There’s enough medium-grade talents on that stage every year as it is.
you ain't wrong but that ain't the point
I ain't mad at no OTHER groups
Kevin f*cked this up from the jump
what WE need to do is figure out why in the hell WE as a people ain't organized like this.
I think that’s easy to see P....
Look who owns and controls media. The Jews.
The have the power to spin & shut shit down in the public eye.
And history has shown overtime it’s far too many of us trying to appeal to the white people rather than stand together And unite.
Kanye for example. He’s been looking for white acceptance since he came in the game. From fashion to music etc
Thing is WE can do the same
we keep dropping the ball...
WE made this internet music streaming hot
WE made twitter hot
WE made this fashion game to the general public hot
WE made this sneaker game hot
I could go on and on...WE make the world move in so many ways.
So what REALLY pissed me off here?
I don't understand the hate jews and gays sh*t..
for WHAT?!?!
Like you said we KNOW what's up.
Has Kevin EVER stood like this for US...HIS PEOPLE.
Has he EVER went at a white celebrity who was out of pocket?
So he decides a homophobic tweet is some type of NOBLE pursuit?
and WORSE..after all that bullshit bluster?
they PUBLICLY CASTRATE him.
TO the surprise of WHO?
What the hell did Kevin GAIN from all that?
STFU apologize delete the tweets and host a POTENTIALLY HISTORIC Oscars
where BLACK f*CKING PANTHER is nominated for NUMEROUS Academy Awards.
gawd damn...it aint hard.
that is why I NEVER liked that little dude.
What a faggot
Hold on I was wrong
I was confused on something
I did NOT realize Kevin had ALREADY apologized for these tweets before.
Now that is ROYALLY messed up for them to use that against him
AGAIN.
That being said..
he should have deleted them and he should have just apologized again and kept it moving...
JUST BECAUSE he JUST had ANOTHER situation during Thanksgiving
It was just a bad set of circumstances that used AGAINST him
again I still think he handled it wrong either way...
but now UNDERSTAND why he felt like he did initially.
I was confused on something
I did NOT realize Kevin had ALREADY apologized for these tweets before.
Now that is ROYALLY messed up for them to use that against him
AGAIN.
That being said..
he should have deleted them and he should have just apologized again and kept it moving...
JUST BECAUSE he JUST had ANOTHER situation during Thanksgiving
It was just a bad set of circumstances that used AGAINST him
again I still think he handled it wrong either way...
but now UNDERSTAND why he felt like he did initially.
Sheeeeit, I watched the WHOLE thing my dude. No need to marker Chris Rock, but thanks for pointing out the specific parts
where he speaks on this topic.
where he speaks on this topic.
2:45 and 6;15 mark Chris that dude
Shoulda never gave you niggas civil rights
He should have never fucking apologized. Believe it or not, most people are sick of this PC bullshit(check some of the posts around here and this would be considered a liberal site). Most people realize it's fucked up for miserable fucks to dig posts up from years ago and basically blackmail people over it to get apologies. The outrage mobs know these people ain't truly sorry. The outrage mobs bitching just want the W.
Stop giving it to them. Folks with celebrity and money have to realize more and more people are sick of this bullying by a relatively small number of people. You not going to find many people saying that on Facebook and social media because they themselves fear being bullied for not being PC.
Shit. We got someone who made it to the highest position of the world in part because he bucked this PC bullshit. Hart would have had the support of the black community off top and most white people weren't going to boycott over this LBGTQWEH shit.
If anyone needs to stand up to this outrage bullying, it's black comedians.
I'm curious how the LGBTQ folks and those giving Kevin Hart shit will respond since Mr. Cannon made known the tweets by these unfunny white winches. Should be interesting.
Oscars Host: Jimmy Kimmel in blackface
And Kavanaugh is STILL on the supreme court...SMH
When Katt came for Tiff, Kevin Hart defended his "little sister" (as he should) against another black man going at her character. White mommy and daddy in Hollywood come for Kev and his character, not a peep from loud mouth Tiff. Another young black male in Hollywood is the only 1 to have his back publicly. Pay attention brothers.
Little sister? The only reason Kevin was defending Tiffany was because they had a movie coming out the same week. It's all marketing.
He called her his "little sister" and they barely mentioned or promoted their movie on Breakfast Club. It was all shots back at Katt, condemning blacks for hating on success, etc. Kev was very upset and passionate. Now its hard not to notice ONLY Nick Cannon is coming to his defense.
