Kevin Hart’s Netflix Docuseries Reveals Why His Team Did Not Agree With How He Handled The Oscars Debacle
Kevin Hart’s Netflix docuseries, Don’t F**k This Up, is still a hot topic. The six-part series follows the actor and comedian for a year and shows the behind the scenes footage of the promotion of his film, Night School, along with his comedy tour, Irresponsible. It also touches on his cheating scandal and the fallout from the Oscars, which he was set to host in 2019 before removing himself after past comments he made about the LGBT+ community resurfaced. Hart refused to apologize for the comments to the disappointment of not only his fans, but also his management team.
Kevin Hart drops out of Oscar hosting gig
Just days after the academy announced that Hart would be the host of the award show, former tweets, and clips from Hart’s stand up routines resurfaces. Many felt the comments were insensitive and ignorant in tone in relation to the LGBT+ community.
In one of the clips, Hart reveals he wouldn’t want his son to identify as a member of the LGBT+ community.
“One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear,” he told the audience. “Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will.”
When speaking with Rolling Stone in 2015, Hart said he wouldn’t make such statements but not for the reason many thought.
“I wouldn’t tell that joke today, because when I said it, the times weren’t as sensitive as they are now,” he said. “I think we love to make big deals out of things that aren’t necessarily big deals, because we can.”
A tweet of Hart claiming he’d “beat the gay” out of his child received the most backlash. When the academy caught wind of everything, they encouraged him to apologize or they’d move on with a different host.
Hart declined the apology, claiming the tweets and jokes were over 10 years old and his present material shows his growth. He also alleged that he’d addressed them before. As a result, he stepped down as the host to not be a “distraction.”
How Kevin Hart’s team did not agree with how handled the Oscar horsing debacle
By refusing to address his past comments in a manner that he was advised and to apologize overall, Hart’s team felt that he made an already bad problem worse. Audiences of the Netflix series watched the behind the scenes chaos that ensued as Hart stubbornly refused to adjust his narrative, causing huge career opportunities to be pulled from beneath him.
In an opening scene of the first part of the series, Hart’s publicist, Haley Hileman, runs down a growing list of interviews, television press opportunities, and potential endorsement deals that Hart has already been dropped from or is in danger of losing. She informs him that during each upcoming interview, he’ll be asked about his past comments. She also lets him know that he has to talk about it.
“No I don’t,” hart responds. “Because I’ve already addressed it.” Hart did speak about it once on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and felt that was substantial enough. His publicist disagreed. “It’s easier to talk about, I’m telling you,” she insisted. Still, he continued to move the direction that he saw fit…which was ignore the situation completely if asked.
Hileman wasn’t the only member of Hart’s machine who felt he was digging himself into a deeper hole. Hart posted a defiant Instagram video dismissing the concerns over his old tweets while he held his brand manager, Wayne Brown, on hold via phone. When confronted by his actions, he defended them.
Hart is later scolded for tweeting out a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. in response to the backlash. In a meeting between Hileman and Brown, Hileman says, “I think everybody saw the Martin Luther King quote he tweeted out last night. That was the wrong move, you are not Martin Luther King. You need to learn how to stop and think.”
Hileman believes Hart is spiraling as a result of the public backlash. According to her, Hart is used to being beloved versus being held accountable for anything he does wrong. But, no one in his team are interested in relaying the information to Hart directly out of fear that he’ll continue to act out. “If you tell him it’s not going to happen, the defiant one is going to make it happen,” Brown says.
A year after the ordeal, Hart recognized his wrong. He wishes he would have slowed down before going on many of his tangents, though he still never full apologized. Instead, he offered a well-crafted explanation of what he would do differently – which is to take a public stance against violence not just against the LGBT community, but against all.
