Kevin Hart has once again issued an apology to the LGBTQ community for his old homophobic tweets, while his contemporary Chris Rock has said his name can be crossed off this year's potential Oscars hosts list.
The controversy over using gay slurs in his past Twitter posts led Hart to step down as the emcee of Academy Awards 2019, after apologising for his comments.
On his SiriusXM radio show, "Straight From the Hart", the comic on Monday said that his words have been "chopped up" following previous apologies.
"Once again, Kevin Hart apologises for his remarks that hurt members of the LGBTQ community. I apologise," he said.
He later explained the original homophobic joke that landed him in trouble.
Hart quoted the joke, "I want to say that I have no problem with gay people. I don't have a homophobic bone in my body. I want you to be happy, be gay, be happy.'"
"And then I say as a heterosexual male, if I can do something to stop my son... That's where the joke starts!" he argued.
"The only clip that I have seen all over the media is the one where I go, 'Stop! That's gay'. I really had to dive into the whole thing, even the tweets," Hart said.
The comedian said the words were "not I said to gay individuals".
"I didn't say these words to people, at the time, this was our dumb a**es on Twitter going back and forth with each other. We thought it was okay to talk like that, because that's how we talked to one another. In that, you go, f**k! This is wrong now," he said.
Meanwhile, the same day, Chris Rock declared that he had no interest in hosting the Oscars ceremony.
The actor-comic, who has hosted the Academy Awards twice, made his intentions clear during his emceeing gig at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards dinner in Manhattan.
"If it was five years ago, I could say something really offensive and funny right now, but I can't do that anymore, so... hey!" Rock quipped.
In his impromptu stand-up of sorts, he looked into the audience at Steve Martin and suggested the veteran actor host the ceremony.
"Steve Martin is here. You should host the Oscars. You're the best. Steve Martin should host the Oscars! Because I'm not doing it, goddammit! You're not getting me," Rock said.
As of now, the Academy's hunt for an Oscars host continues.
PTI
