The controversy over some homophobic tweets by Kevin Hart have kept him from being the 91st host of the Oscars. While homophobia is a very big and unfortunately growing problem I don’t think he should have stepped down from hosting the oscars.

The tweets that are under fire stem from early 2010. Hart has deleted the tweets and since apologized. tweeting, “I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past” and noting that he was stepping down from the gig so that he wouldn’t “be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists.”

Hart claims he has grown since his 2010 homophobic slurs. People can grow and change over time and almost all black comedians have made jokes centered around the LGBTQ community, especially in 2010 when it was more “acceptable” to say things like this.

Not to mention other celebrities (James Charles, Sarah Jeong, R. Kelly, and Roseanne Barr) who have said problematic things in 2018. Where is their backlash?

People were so quick to cancel Kevin Hart, but not other “faves” who have said just as bad, if not worse things. The bottom line is people on cancel celebrities they don’t care about. Stan culture and cancel culture are constantly going back and forth, with people defending celebrities they care about.

“At times, [cancel culture] can be excessive, and a lot of people just cancel to be on the train, and other times, its necessary, because not all celebrities are being held accountable,” said Diamond Cook, 12.

Holding celebrities accountable is very important, because they influence thousands of younger people, but at the same time they are human and should be allowed to make mistakes. Not hosting the Oscars won’t change what he said, or change the fact that he’s apologized multiple times.

Chad Griffin, the head of an LGBT civil rights advocacy group called the Human Rights Campaign, responded to Hart on Twitter.

“You have a rare opportunity to take responsibility, teach people in this moment, & send a message to LGBTQ youth that they matter & deserve dignity & respect. You say you’ve grown. Show us. Make amends for hurtful things you’ve said & affirm LGBTQ people,” Griffin said.

What Kevin Hart said was meant to be lighthearted and funny, with no homophobic or bad intentions, he claims.

“It’s like, what state of the world do you want comedy to go to?” Hart questioned. “Because ultimately, if we keep pushing in this direction, you’re gonna have comics that don’t know what’s safe to talk about, and now the conversation has changed to people aren’t funny anymore because everybody’s afraid to be funny. So what level can they be funny? … We’re taking away the ability for people to be comfortable. Everybody. Workplace, work environments, from professional to any aspect of life, now. Everybody’s walking on their toes. Everybody’s walking on glass.” Hart said when addressing this issue in an interview.

I think his apologies were sincere and he’s owned up to his mistakes and changed his ways. There are other, more important problems that we should be concerned about instead of 10 year old tweets. There are celebrities that have done and said much worse that we choose to ignore because nobody wants to admit they’re problematic. At the end of the day people only cancel celebrities they don’t care about.