Kevin Hart reveals he will never host Oscars, says awards shows are not 'comedy-friendly environments'
Kevin Hart reiterated that he will never host the Oscars, saying that awards show gigs “aren’t comedy-friendly environments anymore.”
The 44-year-old comedian made the statement during his interview with Sky News when he was asked if there’s a chance he will host the Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars.
“No, absolutely not,” he began. "Whatever little hope you had, I want to destroy it right now,” he continued.
The Upside star went on to explain how awards shows are “not a good gig” for comedians, saying that gone are the days when it is a place for comics like him.
“Those gigs aren’t good gigs for comics. It’s no shot to the Oscars, no shot to the Globes or anything else. Those just aren’t comedy-friendly environments anymore,” he said.
"I think they got it right one year where it was like just a bunch of personalities acting as the hosts, and that’s a nice thing. It’s a collaborative thing. Different people get to be responsible for act one, act two, act three. But, you know, the days of it being a room for a comic, those days are done,” he added, praising comedians who have done it right, such as Chris Rock, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler, among others.
The Die Hart star added that awards shows can be a “very cold” room for comedians who are not “industry comics,” also noting the “pressure” about making jokes.
“It's not the gig that it was of old. It's too much pressure on the idea of a comic and what's jokes and not jokes. So, it's tough,” he continued.
This comes after Fil-Am stand-up comedian Jo Koy faced criticism for his hosting performance in the recent Golden Globes awards. Hart was also one of the comedians who defended him, saying that awards shows are a “tough room.”
“Jo Koy is a talented, funny f---king guy, and forever will be. People want to highlight the world of bad but Jo will be good and always has been,” he said.
In case you didn’t know, Hart was tapped to host the Oscars in 2019, but before the show, he received backlash after his anti-gay tweets and stand-up routines from 2009 to 2011 resurfaced.
In December 2018, he initially refused to apologize for his remarks saying he “addressed it several times” and has since moved on. A few days later, Hart decided to step down as the host and apologize to the LGBTQ+ community for his “insensitive remarks.”
Hart has hosted multiple awards shows including Bet Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and the MTV Movie Awards. Apart from this, he is better known for his roles in movies including Jumanji, Central Intelligence, Fatherhood, and Ride Along 2.