About

Kevin Hart is American actor, comedian and producer, best known for his roles in Ride Along, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and several high-profile stand-up comedy concert films. In February 2023, using photographs of the actor as reactions became a popular trend on Twitter.

History

Hart began performing standup comedy in the late 1990s. Hart's friend and mentor, comedian Keith Robinson, said that he "bombed" his first show but did better at the second show.^[1] In 2002, Hart was hired in his first television role on the Judd Apatow-created series Undeclared.^[2]

In 2009, Hart began a series of high-profile stand-up tours, and with 2010's Seriously Funny, he filmed them for theatrical release. His 2013 concert film _Let Me Explain _ grossed more than $32 million worldwide, becoming the fourth highest-grossing stand-up comedy concert film of all time (trailer below).^[3]

In 2014, Hart starred in Ride Along with Ice Cube. The film grossed more than $100 million worldwide, giving Hart his first hit film in which he was the lead.^[4]

Criticisms

Kevin Hart Academy Awards Hosting Controversy

On December 4th, 2018, actor and comedian Kevin Hart announced on Instagram ^[5] that he would be hosting the 2019 Academy Awards. He posted, "For years I have been asked if I would ever host the Oscars, and my answer was always the same…I said that it would be the opportunity of a lifetime[…]I am so happy to say that the day has finally come for me to host the Oscars." Within two days, the post received more than 750,000 likes (shown below).

Following the announcement, some on Twitter pointed out that some of Hart's old tweets and standup routines expressed a homophobic viewpoint. On December 4th, Twitter^[8] @benfraserlee tweeted a quote from Hart's 2010 standup comedy movie in which Hart jokes about how "one of [his] biggest fears is [his] son growing up and being gay." They also posted several tweets from Hart. The tweet received more than 860 retweets and 1,700 likes in two days (shown below, left). One of Hart's tweets stated,^[6] "Yo if my son comes home and try's 2 play with my daughters doll house I'm going to break it over his head & say n my voice 'stop that's gay'" (shown below, center).

Two days later, actor Jamie Lee Curtis tweeted,^[7] "Homophobia is not positivity." The tweet, which many believe was in response to the tweets, received more than 8,700 retweets and 51,000 likes (shown below, right).

On December 6th, Hart posted a video on Instagram^[9] about the controversy surrounding his tweets. In the video, he claims that he has changed, grown and evolved. The post received more than 1.1 million views and 189,000 likes in 24 hours.

The following day, Hart tweeted, "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." The tweet received more than 9,400 retweets and 53,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

On January 3rd, 2018, Ellen DeGeneres published a video preview of her interview with Hart, prior to its airing. In the interview, Hart, again, apologized for the tweets and claimed to be "evaluating" returning to hosting the Oscars. Ellen claimed to vouch for Hart, telling him that she contacted the Academy. She said, "I called them, I said, 'Kevin's on, I have no idea if he wants to come back and host, but what are your thoughts?' And they were like, 'Oh my God, we want him to host! We feel like that maybe he misunderstood or it was handled wrong. Maybe we said the wrong thing, but we want him to host. Whatever we can do we would be thrilled. And he should host the Oscars.'" The tweet received more than 14,000 retweets and 82,000 likes in four days (shown below).

However, the interview sparked another backlash toward Hart's apology, which some deemed insincere. Writer Louis Virtel tweeted,^[10] "I feel like if you’re not homophobic anymore, you shouldn’t mind apologizing for your past homophobia again and again and again. I don’t want to hear a hostile retelling of how we didn’t hear your meager apology the first time." The tweet received more than 1,300 retweets and 11,000 likes in four days (shown below, left). Throughout the day, others voiced their opinion of the apology (examples below, right).

The following day, CNN's Don Lemon discussed the apology on television. Lemon said, "Apologizing and moving on does not make the world a better place for people who are gay or people who are transgender, being an ally does." The Twitter account for @CNNTonight shared the segment on Twitter, receiving more than 7,700 retweets and 24,000 likes in three days (shown below).

Two days later, on January 7th, Hart, again, addressed the controversy on his SiriusXM radio show Straight From The Hart.^[11] He said, "Once again, Kevin Hart apologizes for his remarks that hurt members of the LGBTQ community. I apologize. I am now moving on from this because I am hoping the apology is accepted. … I am not homophobic and never have been."

Kevin Hart Reaction Images

Kevin Hart Reaction Images refers to a social media trend of us using various photographs of comedian Kevin Hart as reactions and in image caption memes. The trend achieved massive popularity on Twitter in late February 2023.

Search Interest

External References