Now that we’ve had several days to think about it, do you care that Kevin Hart felt he had to step down from hosting the Oscars? I thought the announcement of Hart’s hosting gig was met with a general sense of “meh” and “he’s not right for the job, but whatever.” Most blogs and trade papers mentioned in their initial coverage that Hart had some public-image issues, like his very public infidelity, his homophobic public statements/comedy and some racially insensitive sh-t. Any or all of that would have come back to bite him, it was just the homophobia that became an issue so quickly. So Hart stepped down, and now people are wondering… what about all of the other comedians who have said homophobic crap? Nick Cannon took to Twitter to specifically call out three female comedians for homophobic tweets:
Nick Cannon appeared to leap to Kevin Hart‘s defense on Friday, in the wake of the “Night School” star stepping down as the 2019 Oscars host. His defense, which comes amid criticism of Hart’s past homophobic tweets, included calling out female comedians, who had also used homophobic language on the social media platform.
Taking to Twitter, Cannon, 38, wrote, “Interesting. I wonder if there was any backlash here…,” as he shared a 2010 tweet from Chelsea Handler that stated, “This is what a f-g bird likes like when he flexes.”
The “Wild ‘n Out” star also revisited a 2010 tweet from “Ralph Breaks the Internet” actress Sarah Silverman that read, “I don’t mean this in a hateful way but the new bachelorette’s a f—-t.” Cannon later wrote, “And I f–king love Wreck it Ralph!!!”
He then resurfaced a 6-year-old tweet from Amy Schumer that said, “Enjoy skyfall f-gs. I’m bout to get knee deep in Helen Hunt #thesessions.” Cannon responded, “I’m just saying … should we keep going???”
It’s like the old saying: “First they came for Kevin Hart, and I said nothing because f–k that guy. Then they came for the problematic white women and I said nothing because they suck too.” I mean, obviously, if Chelsea Handler, Amy Schumer or Sarah Silverman had been hired to host the Oscars, their old tweets would have been dusted off and analyzed as well. They would have had to issue apologies and all of that. I guess Nick is making some kind of point about Cancel Culture and how we need to cancel Silverman, Schumer and Handler for their homophobia if we’re going to cancel Kevin. And to that I say… *shrug* okay? I’m not going to fight for any of these a–holes.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I don’t think he understands that these women aren’t super super beloved. They do well, and they get jobs, they have decent careers. But I don’t think anyone who’s listened to them is surprised that they have homophobic tweets. Beyond that – Kevin literally was talking about beating his kid if he played with dolls. The tweets that were drug up are still awful, but there’s just something EXTRA disturbing when a father is talking about beating their child for doing something considered feminine.
Beyond that – is it impossible for him to shoot down some men as well? Or is it just that he likes to go after women? Because I’m sure there’s a lot of beloved men who could get dragged, but I suspect he thinks the women are an easier target. My overall dislike of him could be clouding my judgement, but it just seems interesting that a known asshole gets called out for being an asshole and Nick’s response is to go after only women.
Also some wisdom FROM NICK:
“My Asian friends, I don’t let them walk my dog. Because they might wok my dog! I’m racist! I am.”
The disturbing thing about the Hart comments, IMHO, highly connected to the idea of laying hands on a child for being a child. There’s something visceral about that that the Schumer, Silverman and Handler’s cracks, however crude, don’t connect to.
I appreciate the fact that Kevin Hart issued an apology for the homophobic tweets AFTER he resigned from hosting the Oscars. If he had issued the apology when demanded, it would have seemed like Kevin was doing it just to keep the hosting gig. Rather, he stepped away from the job, reminded his audience that he is no longer the person he was when he posted the tweets, and sincerely apologized.
Perhaps, Nick is emphasizing that many comedians — even those who publicly support women’s rights, people of colour, and the LGBTQ community — have made off-colour and insensitive jokes.
I’m willing to bet he didn’t step down, he was told the job is off either way and was given an opportunity to save his face by making it look like it was his initiative to quit. The academy was never gonna let him on that scene after the backlash anyway, their people just talked it out and came up with a deal that makes him look slightly better, and the Academy not as inept as to hire and fire a guy fpr the most important job because they couldn’t google him.
Yet the Academy keeps nominating Mel Gibson… or effing ROMAN POLANSKI. Inconsistent billshut.
yeesh those tweets are bad, no doubt. I was a bit confused, was Nick doing a classic “what-about-ism” to get attention away from his buddy, or was he trying to discuss the bigger issue of race in cancel culture?
I don’t know, but Handler has mad racist “jokes” on camera and her job never came in a question she made racist “jokes” on Twitter while still employed with her TV show and her job was never came to question.
All homophobia is bad. Come for anyone who indulges in it. Especially Sis people who use it to get laughs.
*Cis
He does have a point and I’m glad he said what he said. I’m not so sure these women’s old tweets would have been dig, but of course we will never know. White woman is seen as harmless anyway.
Problematic white women who get by because of societal protections extended to them by being white. Buh-bye! These women, make it harder to make progress on addressing true inequality. And so does Kevin Hart with his homophobic jokes.
I am so done with shades of grey when it comes to who can get away with saying something that truly belittles and diminishes a person or group of people that are obviously societally discriminated against or actually legally discriminated against (there are still laws on the books making certain sex acts between people of the same sex illegal). It is not okay. It is a way that our society perpetuates inequality and it is gross.
Cancel all the A-holes.
Amen. Don’t forget the other privileged white women & faux feminists – Lena Dunham (not a comedian but meets your description) and Jenny Slate). Same thing, different face.
Kevin Hart also “joked” that Dark skin black women are all broke h0*$ with bad credit and can take a punch in the face better than Light skin black women.
Bear in mind that he is a dark skin person himself with a dark skin daughter, mother and then wife
So as a BW, I can safely say my cape is at the cleaners where Kevin is concerned.
@Notthisagain……you said it…so I don’t have too!!!!!!!!!!
If he’s dark-skinned, his mother is dark-skinned, his child is dark-skinned and his wife is dark-skinned, then perhaps it was just a joke at dark-skinned peoples expense? Like a ‘joke’ that he doesn’t mean.
No one in their right mind would invite Handler or Schumer to host the Oscars, though. They’re proud to be crass. If that’s their lane & they stay there, fair enough.
Is Nick Cannon trying to say in a round about way he is not homophobic and should be considered to host the Oscars? The producers should just hire Wanda Sykes. I think she would do a great job
oooh, wanda sykes would be great!
I would watch if they got Wanda Sykes.
This is the BEST IDEA EVAH. I love love Wanda and she would take the piss out of all the self congratulatory crap that goes along with the oscars.
yep! just saw her. PERFECT.
Still hoping for Maya Rudolph and Tiffany Haddish.
Me too!
I don’t think he’s defending Hart so must as just pointing out the constant double-standard where problematic white women (and other white folks) are constantly let off the hook for their homophobia, racism, etc. It’s constant. As BIPOC, we always are brought face to face with this stuff even when it’s not a “known” offender like Handler, Silverman, etc. You’re happily watching a show and then they come with the “n” word or some other racist bullshit or joke about disability. It’s the same with how Lena Dunham keeps being given platforms even though she continues to be deeply problematic.
They can say whatever the hell they want, AND I can go on disliking their big d— routines. It must suck to have your fame tightly tied irreverent raunch.
Don’t like Nick. Don’t like Kevin. My schtick-laughs are extremely brief if at all lol.
None of these women were candidates to host the Oscars.
Not everyone that’s been called out hosted the Oscars.
He’s saying white women get away with stuff people of color couldn’t. And he’s right.
I think Kevin Hart did get away with it until he was offered the Oscars gig. That was the turning point, wasn’t it?
@ Cay
Yeah. It’s weird because Kevin’s movies do really well. His comedy shows get sold out. He’s even teamed up with Nike. No one said sh*t about his old tweets. Now all of a sudden when he gets this Oscars gig, someone decided to dig those tweets up. They are horrible tweets and very homophobic. How come no one had a problem with them before this Oscars gig though? That’s the part I don’t understand. Nike is a HUGE company, even they didn’t bother to research his social media history prior to working with him???
Perhaps no one had a problem with them because they recognized them as jokes?
nick cannon needs to check his own gross tweets and his face in the mirror with his siek cosplay, which i find offensive.
Why is there a problem with Nick Cannon wearing a turban? Turbans are not prohibited protective wear for only one culture. Didn’t ethnicities can wear turbans, Nick Cannon falls in one of the originating cultures for turbans.
his explanation for wearing one is why. for him it is literally sikh cosplay that turned into attention in the press. (phone’s auto correct misspelled above)
Sikhism is a universalizing religion. They allow (but don’t ask actively seek) converts. In that way it would be like someone wearing a cross necklace while they dabble in Christianity. I don’t get your outrage.
Really I didn’t realise Nick cannons background was Sikh. Can you please point me to information about this because I’d really like to read up on this brand new information.
Americans really need to understand that the rest of the world, just like America has its own norms and traditions. Turbans are a sign of respect and reserved for the elderly in many regions. They actually hold a significant meaning to the people who wear them. The Sikh turban for example has religious connotations. It’s not a freaking cosplay costume.
@BabyJane
How many people have been attacked for wearing the cross in the US? Because people wearing the turbans have been attacked. Sikhs have been murdered. I am not Sikh but people from my region wear turbans and if someone wearing one went outside like that, they’d have to put up with racist comments and fend off idiots the second they step outside the door.
Your comments are highly insensitive and tone deaf. Please learn something about other cultures for a change.
LOL. @Sza. I’m a religion teacher. Nothing in my comment has to do with the public response to either of these religions. Stay in your lane gurrrrl.
I can only feel sorry for your students then. Hopefully they have the intelligence to research and learn about other cultures and religions on their own.
Go spend your rage credits elsewhere. A person joining a universalizing religion and wearing regalia of said religion is not offensive or appropriating- that’s the point OF the regalia of a universalizing religion. Now go away.
I feel like the bigger problem with Hart was his refusal to apologize. Had he owned it, “apologized” and said that BS about being a different man, most ppl would have gotten over their faux outrage. I dont condone his tweets whatsoever but Kevin Hart is extremely popular so obviously there is a market out there for him. It was the fact that he was so high and mighty and outright refused to take responsibility.
NC is an idiot. He literally has/had a show where the whole point was to make fun of ppl so hes no moral warrior when it comes go kindness, compassion and respecting others. And dont think I didn’t notice his (easy) target….not very likable white women.
I’ve never added a comment, but felt compelled to do so now. Can we stop pretending that Nick isn’t highlighting the far higher standards people of colour face than say white women. He chose to use them as examples as they are often overlooked and underestimated when it comes to causing offensive and plain old racism. History looks on white women favourably when at times they have been the instigator or catalyst in the downfall of black people in general – re Emitt Till. Even down to the inclusion of his infidelity in the reasons as to why he shouldnt be a host. If that was really an issue there would be no films let alone an award ceremony. Infidelity is rife in Hollywood. Again, this is another example of the goal posts being moved for a person of colour. For those distracting from the point and saying him joking about beating his child being worse than the jokes those women made – think of all the people who take their lives over homophobic jokes everyday. Would they say no, those homophobic jokes are better than that? No, they are all wrong. Also, before anyone tries to imply differently, I think his infidelity is gross but is it my business, no and does it have any barring on his capability as host… No. Even if they had been in the running, they wouldn’t be treated as harshly, its that simple.
Fair points.
The infidelity point is weird to me too because MOST of these Hollywood folks are cheaters and much worst. Cheating is bad but I don’t think that should prevent him from working. And that Guardian journalist who started all this is so smug and gloaty about it all it makes me uncomfortable.
Handler in particular has been allowed to recast herself as some kind of liberal with nobody making her accountable for racism and homophobia.
I never understood how people decided aziz is the worst but handler who tweeted homophobic and racist stuff about KIDS was allowed to carry on like she was some kind of ally. And it wasn’t just her tweets it was that show she had where she would literally make homophobic jokes on a regular basis.
White feminism really is the worst.
Chelsea Handler is the worst. She’s crap person and I will never support anything she does. Pretty much the same with Sarah Silverman and Amy Schumer. Making racist and/or homophobic “jokes” whilst hiding behind their curtain of bland whiteness irritates the piss out of me.
Exactly! I marvel at how Handler has escaped being called out publicly for all of the offensive things she has said. I agree about Silverman & Schumer though I know less about them than I do Handler. Handler’s time is up & she needs to go!
Never been a fan of Silverman or Schumer who has very bluntly stolen jokes from more unknown comedians. What has Handler said? I know she’s very outspoken against Trump and republican snowflakes seem to hate her but personally I’ve watched her shows and followed her on twitter but haven’t seen anything terrible..?
Agreed. Handler is such a vile, hateful person. I remember people calling her out for her nasty attitude whenever she had black women as guests on her show. I’ll never understand how anyone could find her funny, and I always side-eyed her celeb friends because they don’t exactly have a reputation for kindness either (Witherspoon, Sharapova, Theron).
It’s interesting he went after white women but not white men, as I’m sure there are plenty of white male comedians who have made homophobic jokes or used homophobic slurs. To me, it seems like he’s upset because he feels black male comedians aren’t able to get away with as much as white women comedians and wants that privilege opposed to wanting people to be held equally accountable for their wrongdoings. It’s like a reverse of white feminists being angry that black men were given the right to vote before them. These people don’t want equality for everyone, they want the privellage accorded to white men for themselves specifically and get upset when they feel groups other than themselves are getting it.
It’s mostly because he’s making the far larger point that white females are held on a pedestal of behavior that is damaging but are not ever or rarely called on for their destructive actions because they are protected.
How about Samantha Bee? Was she held on a pedestal for calling Ivanka a C? Was Michelle Wolf held to a higher standard for saying SHS wears smoky eye shadow? It seems like female comedians are often being called out for the things they say.
The point he’s making is a valid one, but one he’s only invoking in an attempt to shield his buddy. To my knowledge, Nick Cannon has never voiced problems with the damaging way society protects white women before and if the issue involved the damaging impact white women can have on any margalized group other than black men, I’m not so sure Nick Cannon would be concerned.
Nick is commenting on others while wearing a turban as a fashion accessory, yeah not taking him seriously.
No idea why he wears them but just wanted to say that turbans aren’t just an Asian thing. Turbans are used in parts of Africa too (north of Africa and Horn of Africa).
He has stated in the past he is learning about the Sikh faith. I believe he said he got inspired by Sikhi and therefore wanted to wear a Turban. I’m Sikh and I’m ok with it. He’s being respectful when he wears one. I know Sikh men who wear turbans and don’t follow anything the Sikh religion teaches and definitely DON’T respect the religion.
How is this any different than someone learning about and adopting the tenets of Christianity wearing a cross???
And besides, wearing a turban isn’t explicitly prescribed for Sikhs… it’s a consequence/response to men’s very long hair as a management & social tool.
A terrible person can make a good point. A person with disingenuous motives can likewise make a good point. It’s important to understand this.
This type of comedy is never okay to me no matter who it’s coming from.
That said, I think Nick’s point is that perhaps there should be a statute of limitations on tweets we hold people accountable for. He’s saying years-old tweets should not be used against people when it comes to their careers, and I agree with that. Now, if Hart still includes that kind of dialogue in his standup, then he should’ve never been chosen in the first place. But if this is only about old tweets, then I think it’s silly he was asked to address them.
I don’t like any of them, including Cannon, so cancel them all, at least for me.
Have any of these women been asked to do high profile gigs the way Hart was here? I’m not saying he doesn’t have a valid point about white privilege and double standards, but I’m honestly curious if we’ve seen a comparable situation arise and what the response was. There are several layers of privilege/oppression at play here – Hart’s blackness (is he being judged more harshly for it?), gender issues (look how few hosts have been female in the last decade – are they not getting called out for it simply because they get passed over for men in the first place?), and LGBT+ minorities being used as a punchline by people when many of these individuals are old enough to have seen the tail end of the AIDS epidemic.
POC comedians like Tracy Morgan was also called out for this. He wasn’t hosting no Oscar. Let’s not make it about purely about the Oscars.. Black men who make homophobic jokes should be called out but so should white women (even if they call themselves feminists). Also Handler at least has a history of making racist tweets on top of the homophobia so in her case it’s really a case of blatant white privilege.
I especially remember Handler was hired to live tweet the Oscars for some company/site and she used that to make racist jokes concerning Lupita Nyong’o and Sidney Poitier. However, Handler’s been too busy flashing naked bits on IG to do any actual comedy jobs.
I’m not disagreeing at all that they should. I was just curious if we had a comparable situation recently where a white female celebrity was asked to host such a big event and got bitten in the ass by this kind of behavior. Racial politics are definitely at play here, but I’m wondering if there are other factors at play here that exacerbate the egregiousness of the behavior in either direction.
Handler is f*cking gross, though.
I just want to say one thing about homophobia/homophobic tweets etc which are all WRONG as any decent human know. I think that people should remember that the current climate of tolerance towards LGBTQ folk is fairly new. Things are not what they were 10 years ago or even less than 10 years. I think that should be taking into consideration when judging folk on their *past* in regards to this particular topic.
I see folks trying to compare racism to homophobia like “what if someone white said they n word 8 years ago in a tweet would that be ok?” In my opinion, these things are not comparable because society has deemed discriminating against someone for the color of their skin wrong for hundreds of years now while homophobia being wrong in society’s view is again not even 10 years old. So someone writing racist stuff 10 years ago definitely knew it was wrong but the homophobia was a product of the time imo. Heck, even Hilary Clinton was initially against marriage equality. I think for *this* particular issue context is key. Again, not defending homophobia just giving another perspective.
The comment above mine is ridiculous. If these remarks were made before the 90’s I could be a bit more understanding because the times were different then. But all of these tweets/jokes were made in the 00’s or 10’s and by then, everyone knew better than to say those derogatory words. I don’t like that Cannon only called out women, but yeah, they suck just like Hart does for speaking that way about the LBGT community. Hart’s big misstep was not showing remorse or using it as a teaching moment. He got defensive and attacked which leads me to believe that he still uses those words and feels that way about gay people. I am curious on how the three ladies will respond.
Those women won’t respond. They will stay quiet until the next “celeb scandal” and this will be swept right under the rug and forgotten.
I doubt that the cited women are homophobic. This is probably just a case of them thinking it was okay for them to use such terms because their friends in the target group use such words. It doesn’t work that way, though. You have to be a member of the affected group. It’s like ethnic jokes — ok if it’s about your own ethnicity only.
I’m all for continuing to challenge white feminists. I’m not for changing the subject and whataboutism.
That’s the only part I question about Cannon’s motivations. Is he saying that it should be okay for Hart because white women get away with it, or is he pointing out the racial blind spot that allows white women to benefit from both homophobia and racism?
Part of what he’s saying is everyone, me and all the people on this site who cancel someone who offends them, have poop that stinks. We’ve all, done things that are bad & this nonsense of canceling is childish. Billy Eichner made a great statement about this over the weekend.
I’m tired of being offended over everyone and everything … but I know this will correct eventually. Otherwise feel lucky to have been spared a lot of Dwayne Johnson walk ons …
Meanwhile, white male comedians who’ve said homophobic, racist, and misogynistic ~jokes~ are twiddling their thumbs.
I don’t understand Nick’s point. Kevin Hart was still getting jobs and making movies just like those white women were. The only difference is that he was asked to host the Oscars and those women weren’t. If Kevin Hart hadn’t been asked to host, none of this would have come to light. Never mind that Hart is still going to be making movies and will continue to get roles. So again what point is Nick Cannon trying to make using those women?
Btw I do believe that POC are held to standards that white people arent held to. I just don’t think this particular case is an example of that.
I’ve heard Sarah Silverman address some of the problematic things she’s said in the past, not after being called out on it, but because she apparently realized that it wasn’t okay. Her comments came across (to me at least) as thoughtful and sincere, so, because I do believe that we all can learn and grow, I don’t lump her in with the others.
Also, Billy Eichner had an interesting tweet about it where, while stressing don’t use the word, he also addressed context and intention.
https://twitter.com/billyeichner/status/1071936262422949888
My only problem is the misuse of the word homophobia. Homophobia is the dislike and prejudice against homosexuals. Most of those tweets aren’t actually illustrating homophobia. Bigotry, yes. Unnecessary use of certain words to describe gay men, yes. But it’s not homophobia.
Not to defend Kevin Hart but this author sums up my feeling on the matter: https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/08/kevin-hart-oscars-host-unenlightened-black-homophobe-trope
The word f-gs is a derogatory word used against the LGB community. It is a word that homophobic use to describe gay people.
He’s right 🤷🏽♀️The world is freezing over, clearly but he’s right whatever y’all
Whoever said Wanda Sykes needs to be replaced in this position needs a phucking promotion in life because they are a straight up first class A plus genius yes I would watch for the first time in 20 plus years legit