Kevin Hart's non-apology doomed him -- not his old homophobic tweets

Slate

"Hart’s history might have doomed him from the start," says Sam Adams, "but he’s hardly the first prospective Oscars host with questionable material in his past—Seth MacFarlane and Chris Rock got the gig, after all—and though these may be more sensitive times, there’s also an established protocol for resolving these kinds of issues: a sincere apology, an interview with a sympathetic journalist, maybe a charitable donation or two." Hart did ultimately apologize, but only after announcing he was stepping down. Adams adds: "What Hart’s posts didn’t contain was anything resembling a genuine apology, or even a hint that he was genuinely sorry. If anything, he seemed to want an apology from other people for not already understanding what a good and happy person he is. It’s possible that no new words from Hart could have wiped away his old ones, but an act of public contrition would at least have given the Academy a leg to stand on. Instead, Hart posted a video saying he had just gotten off the phone and been told he needed to apologize to keep the job, and then signed off without apologizing—at which point both his and the Academy’s hands were effectively tied. A few hours after the second video, Hart tweeted he had 'made the choice' to step away from the hosting job and then ended up posting the apology that might have allowed him to keep the job in the first place."

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