According to Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo, ABC News and the Academy Awards learned a valuable lesson this week: The radical far-left’s “woke” standard applies to everyone.
And that includes even seemingly “woke” comedians like Kevin Hart, who was forced this week to back out of his gig as the host of the upcoming ABC-hosted Oscars because of past jokes.
Between 2009 and 2011, the comedian made allegedly homophobic jokes both on Twitter and in his stand-up acts. In one joke he spoke of not wanting his then-3-year-old son to be gay.
After seeing this @benfraserlee tweet, I did a search for every time Kevin Hart tweeted “fag,” “homo,” or “gay.” It was…a lot. And he seems to have basically stopped tweeting those words after 2011 — i.e. the year his first stand-up movie became a hit. https://t.co/P8nTOilFgx pic.twitter.com/6uzPhnvt4F
— Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) December 5, 2018
These jokes resurfaced this week after ABC and the Academy Awards chose the comedian to host the 2018 Oscars. The resulting backlash led to Hart stepping down from the gig.
But why did they choose Hart given his past? Speaking with Fox News host Laura Ingraham about the controversy, Arroyo said they chose him because they thought he was “woke” enough.
“He’s a beloved African American performer in this age of #OscarsSoWhite, and because of what he said at the MTV Video Awards earlier this year,” the Fox contributor said. “He sided with the NFL kneelers and he told the president, ‘Trump, suck it.'”
But this wasn’t enough to protect either ABC, the Academy Awards or Hart from the mob.
Listen to Arroyo’s explanation below:
“The Academy loved the Trump-bashing, edgy, crass until Hollywood and the community started pushing back on social media, calling him homophobic, anti-gay,” he said.
Frightened by the unexpected backlash, the Academy then reached out to the comedian to demand that he issue a public apology or be removed as this year’s host.
Hart initially refused, explaining in a video statement that he’d already apologized in an interview four years ago and therefore saw no reason to apologize again.
“So I just got a call from The Academy. That call basically said, ‘Kevin, apologize for your tweets or we’re going to have to move on and find another host. …Â I passed,” Hart said.
“The reason that I passed is I’ve addressed it several times. That’s not the first time this has come up. I’ve addressed it. I’ve spoken on it. I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were. I’ve said who I am now versus who I was then. I’ve done it.”
Listen:
But as noted by Arroyo, Hart eventually apologized via social media, not this appeased his critics. If anything, their anger against the comedian seemed to only increase.
“Too little, too late Kevin, SO GLAD you stepped down.. you are not worthy and will never be..you can apologize as much as you want, but I don’t think a man changes his belief so quickly.. NOW you will always be remembered as a homophobe and that’s how you should be remembered,” one particularly incensed Twitter user wrote in a reply to Hart’s apologies.
Look at his apologies and the responses to them below:
I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….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.
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018
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.
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018
Too little, too late Kevin, SO GLAD you stepped down.. you are not worthy and will never be..you can apologize as much as you want, but I don’t think a man changes his belief so quickly.. NOW you will always be remembered as a homophobe and that’s how you should be remembered
— Enrique (@Enrique48792874) December 7, 2018
Too late…homophobe
— Mike Clark (@BucksinHeath) December 7, 2018
Gurl, the way I heard it is you’re a homophobic asshole who was told to apologize or be replaced and you chose to be replaced because you’re a hate-filled homophobe. Thoughts and Prayers, sweetie…and RIP your now-dead career. Nothing but “love” for ya, bitch.
— Phuk Civility #Resist #FBR #Basta (@PhukYourself) December 7, 2018
@KevinHart4real screen shots never go away homophobe. You’re an asshole!!! pic.twitter.com/H0hF3UvXZp
— Isabella Extynn (@IsabellaExtynn) December 6, 2018
There’s also been anger expressed toward ABC and the Academy. which doesn’t surprise Arroyo.
“What this demonstrates is that ABC and the Academy Awards did not learn the Roseanne Barr lesson, which is, when the PC dogma moves in and makes demands on you, stand firm,” he said.
“You can get people to apologize for outrageous things, but you can’t collapse and throw your talent overboard, or comedy — the lane for comedy — is going to narrow.”
Earlier this year ABC cancelled comedian Roseanne Barr’s highly popular sitcom after she made an allegedly racist joke about Obama-era White House adviser Valerie Jarrett.
The network later tried to bounce back by relaunching the sitcom without Barr, but the relaunch has been a complete and utter disaster. Network executives now reportedly regret their decision.
“This the problem: Everybody’s so sensitive. We need to have our foibles and who we are lampooned so we can laugh together and get past the biases,” Arroyo concluded.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.
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