"Being a black man in America means navigating the racism of the majority, but it also has to mean understanding how our position within our culture affords us power to stand over others in that culture."

Writes Stereo Williams in The Daily Beast.

Two of entertainment’s most successful and controversial comedians have faced recent criticism for their inability or unwillingness to recognize the latter. Dave Chappelle and Kevin Hart have both been at the center of PR nightmares as the result of remarks they’ve made about the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ issues. Those controversies were back under the spotlight recently. In August, Chappelle’s latest Netflix special, Sticks & Stones, reignited what feels like an ongoing back-and-forth between the comic and the audience he seems to revel in provoking. And Hart, during this week’s appearance on LeBron James’ HBO series The Shop, sparked an uncomfortable exchange when rapper Lil Nas X explained why he’d decided to come out just as he was breaking big with the No. 1 hit “Old Town Road.”

Here's the clip from "The Shop":



Hart was just in a serious car accident, so the response to this clip has been muted. But Hart said "Hate what? Why? Why are you growing up to hate?" when Lil Nas X brought up homophobia in the black community. Lil Nas X answers Hart: "Come on now, if you’re really from the hood, you know."

"So now the slander on my name is all homophobia. So now I’m a little upset. Because I know who I am. I know I don’t have a homophobic bone in my body."

Said Kevin Hart to Ellen DeGeneres, who backs him up:

“There are so many haters out there on the internet,” DeGeneres told Hart. “Don’t pay attention to them... You can’t let them destroy you.... I think it’s perfect that all this happened... Because there has to be a conversation about homophobia... You’ve grown, you’ve apologized, you’re apologizing again right now, you’ve done it. Don’t let those people win, host the Oscars."

They still need a host, but should Hart reverse his decision? Watch the clips at the link. I think the stronger position for him is to resist them, unless they truly crawl.

“We’re back with this year’s Oscar host Kevin Hart,” DeGeneres joked after [a] commercial break.... He said he would be “evaluating” his decision to step down, but still seemed aggrieved over the “malicious attack” on his character.... 

He should be aggrieved! I'd love to hear how he talks about all this when he's not in the warm, fuzzy Ellen DeGeneres showcase. She did a fine job with her role, but notice how she's acting like she's boosting his self-esteem and challenging him, as if he needs to step up and be a winner. I think the people who drove him out are now exposed as the losers, so sticking to his decision isn't "letting them win."

ADDED: Ellen is getting flak for defending Hart.

Snoop Dogg has some advice for Kevin Hart.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on Dec 7, 2018 at 7:14am PST

Addressing the ousting of Kevin Hart as Oscars host (because of some bad homophobic jokes years ago), Snoop Dogg says, "That ain't our kind of shit, no way. Oscars??! Yeah, right. Come do the BET Awards. Or Soul Train. They don't care. You're a comedian. Cracking jokes. Really? Y'all want me to host it now? Nah. I don't think so. I got shit to do. And I got way more customers before I get to you. Kevin Hart, smoke a blunt. Tell the Academy to suck a dick or die trying. Fuck 'em. We still love you... Fuck the Grammys too."

I enjoyed that little tirade, with very amusing comic pauses. It expresses something it's important to notice — the racial dimension of a strict enforcement of political correctness. As I said in the earlier post about the crushing of Kyler Murray's great moment — political correctness itself can be politically incorrect.

"After Kevin Hart was announced as the host for the 2019 Oscars, old tweets and press comments of his surfaced that contained a litany of homophobic jokes and statements."

"(e.g. 'One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay,' Hart said while promoting the movie Seriously Funny.) Two days after the hosting news broke and social media started circulating the comedian’s past remarks, Hart has posted a video on Instagram not saying he’s sorry for anything. He does say, however, that 'our world is becoming beyond crazy, and I’m not going to let the craziness frustrate me.' Hart adds in the video’s caption: 'I’m almost 40 years old and I’m in love with the man that I am becoming,' and, 'What’s understood should never have to be said.' So, if you didn’t know Kevin Hart has grown over the past 10 years, well, that’s on you."

Vulture reports.

UPDATE: "Kevin Hart says he won't host Oscars after furor over homophobic tweets" (CNN).

"I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's," Hart, who is currently performing in Sydney, Australia, announced late Sunday on Twitter. "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. 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. Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again."

ADDED: From a column in Variety that went up before Hart stepped down — "Why Kevin Hart Was the Wrong Choice to Host the Oscars" by Owen Gleiberman:

The trouble with Kevin Hart’s words— the reason that, by and large, they’re terrible jokes — is that they express a spirit of extreme anti-empathy. They’re not just “cheap gags.” They’re overtly hostile and parochial; they basically demonize LGBTQ identifying people as The Other..... Hart’s spirit is, in fact, a bit Trumpian: superior and divisive, based on the falsity of exclusion.... The last thing that anyone needed on Oscar night was to be laughing at the the host and wondering, in the back of one’s mind, whether the cutting edge of his jokes was really the sharp blade of intolerance.

The swipe at Trump is stupid. It's the kind of overtly hostile and parochial demonizing Gleiberman impugns. I don't associate Trump with anything anti-gay, so why drag him in?