Kevin Hart has spoken out against ‘cancel culture’ in a recent interview, admitting “I personally don’t give a shit about [it]”.
The comedian spoke to The Sunday Times for a feature on his latest film Fatherhood and took a moment to reflect on past negative reviews, before addressing his own ‘cancellation’.
In 2018, Hart stepped down from hosting the Oscars ceremony after a series of homophobic tweets – and questionable stand up material – from almost a decade prior re-surfaced.
“If people want to pull up stuff, go back to the same tweets of old, go ahead. There is nothing I can do,” he told The Sunday Times. “You’re looking at a younger version of myself. A comedian trying to be funny and, at that attempt, failing. Apologies were made.”
“I understand now how it comes off. I look back and cringe. So it’s growth. It’s about growth.”
Hart originally refused to apologise at the height of the Oscars scandal, stating he had already done so in an interview back in 2015. He later went on to say he was sorry for his “insensitive words”.
His recent interview continues: “I personally don’t give a shit about [cancel culture]… If somebody has done something truly damaging then, absolutely, a consequence should be attached. But… when you’re talking, ‘Someone said! They need to be taken [down]!’ Shut the f*** up! What are you talking about?”
Hart then drew a comparison between ‘cancel culture’ and the expectation that people go to prison to be “taught a lesson”, but then struggle to find work after being released, despite now being “better”.
“When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect? Where people were supposed to operate perfectly all the time?”
“I’ve been cancelled, what, three or four times? Never bothered. If you allow it to have an effect on you, it will. Personally? That’s not how I operate. I understand people are human. Everyone can change.”
Kevin Hart also spoke out about his cancel controversies in 2019 Netflix special, Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up.
The documentary featured members of Hart’s publicity team urging him to apologise and remember it’s not just his career on the line (“he’s feeding 50-60 people”).
The post Kevin Hart on ‘cancel culture’: “I personally don’t give a shit” appeared first on NME.
