Let’s cut the chase and get right to it…

Back in December Kevin Hart was asked to host the 91st Academy Awards, set to air February 24, 2019, on ABC and in less than 24-hours after being announced as this year’s host, past homophobic tweets resurfaced (again). In result, The Academy contacted Hart and asked him to issue an apology.  Being that Hart had already previously addressed and apologized for those past tweets, he politely declined the offer.  It was a tough decision for Hart, but being asked to issue an apology (something he had already done) seemed repetitive and unnecessary.

I wasn’t super active on Twitter during the time of those tweets so I missed it.  I’m sure I’m not the only one of 34.8M followers on Twitter that wasn’t aware of the tweets, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened and caused a rift on social media within the LGBT community.

It seems every year I become less of a fan of The Oscars.  Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely enjoy celebrating filmmakers and the movie stars that showcase their creativity on the big screen, but it’s pretty evident that race and gender equality are still major issues in Tinseltown.  However, times are changing, voices have been heard, and things appear to be headed in the right direction.

I don’t know about you guys but for me, I’m pretty sure the host is the deciding factor on if I’ll sit through the gut-wrenching 3-hour show or just check out the winners the next morning on social media.  Despite being the biggest night in Hollywood, I’m not too big on all the Red Carpet jazz, although it can be quite entertaining.  As for the award show, there are only a few categories that I actually care about and unless there’s a great host to make light of all the dead air in between presentations and commercial breaks, then its a hard pass for me.

Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres, and Jimmy Kimmel are just a few of my favorite host over the past couple years and Kevin Hart would be a great successor to those inspiring personalities. Earlier this month Ellen DeGeneres revealed on her show Ellen that she reached out to The Academy in honor of Kevin Hart.  Take a look…

Hart respects the honor of even being asked to host the Oscars; as he mentions hosting the award show is one of his biggest goals.  For that reason alone I feel like he should still host.  Why should one of his dreams be diminished by internet trolls and negative people?

At the end of the day, his stand on whether to host or not to may end up being bigger than him.  It may open the door for conversations on malicious attacks and the impact of social media…but when its all said and done, I really hope he takes the stage.  If he does, a standing ovation will be in order, plus this allows his voice to be heard on an even bigger stage on a night where everyone in the world will be watching.