Kevin Hart withdraws from hosting the Oscars

The actor said he did not want "to be a distraction" on the night.
 By 
Johnny Lieu
 on 
Kevin Hart withdraws from hosting the Oscars
Kevin Hart is pulling out of the Oscars. Credit: Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Kevin Hart has stepped down as Oscars host.

In a tweet posted late on Thursday, the comedian said he did not want "to be a distraction" on the night, and apologized to the LGBTQ community for his "insensitive words from my past."

Hart added in another tweet that he was "sorry that I hurt people," and hopes one day he and the Academy can meet again.

The actor and comedian was announced as the host of the 91st Academy Awards on Wednesday, but it was quickly followed by concerns over some of his older, now-deleted tweets which contained a number of homophobic slurs.

Hart then made a non-apology via Instagram on Thursday afternoon, where he told people to "stop looking for reasons to be negative."

In a later Instagram post, Hart revealed he received a call from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who had asked him to apologize for his tweets or they would find another host.

Hart at the time said he had "addressed" the slurs, and that he wouldn't give an apology. That now, of course, has changed.

UPDATE: Dec. 7, 2018, 10:08 a.m. EST Hart posted a tweet quoting Martin Luther King, Jr., seemingly praising himself for his conduct after the controversy, saying that the ultimate measure of a man is where he stands "at times of challenge and controversy."

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Johnny Lieu

Mashable Australia's Web Culture Reporter.Reach out to me on Twitter at @Johnny_Lieu or via email at jlieu [at] mashable.com

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