Just days after the Motion Picture Academy tapped Kevin Hart to host the 91st Academy Awards, the comedian is stepping down from the gig. Hart faced backlash for his history of anti-gay statements in his stand-up and in his Twitter history, with many people on Twitter calling on the Academy to remove him as host.

Thursday evening, Hart posted a video to Instagram responding to the backlash, telling people to “stop looking for reasons to be negative,” and to understand that those tweets from 2009-2011 were in his past. “If u want to search my history or past and anger yourselves with what u find that is fine with me.” He had not previously publicly acknowledged or apologized for those offensive statements.


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Stop looking for reasons to be negative…Stop searching for reasons to be angry….I swear I wish you guys could see/feel/understand the mental place that I am in. I am truly happy people….there is nothing that you can do to change that…NOTHING. I work hard on a daily basis to spread positivity to all….with that being said. If u want to search my history or past and anger yourselves with what u find that is fine with me. I’m almost 40 years old and I’m in love with the man that I am becoming. You LIVE and YOU LEARN & YOU GROW & YOU MATURE. I live to Love….Please take your negative energy and put it into something constructive. Please….What’s understood should never have to be said. I LOVE EVERYBODY…..ONCE AGAIN EVERYBODY. If you choose to not believe me then that’s on you….Have a beautiful day

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In fact, in the Instagram video where he stepped down from the gig, he says the Academy asked him to apologize and he refused to do so. “I passed,” the comedian said. “The reason I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. Regardless, to the Academy, I’m thankful for the opportunity, if it goes away, no harm, no foul.”


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I know who I am & so do the people closest to me. #LiveLoveLaugh

A post shared by Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real) on

Late Thursday, he posted a Tweet, confirming that he was stepping down and finally issuing an apology:

“I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”

He followed up with:

“I’m sorry that I hurt people.. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart. Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again.”


READ MORE:

Kevin Hart Under Fire After Homophobic Tweets Resurface In Light Of Oscars Hosting Gig

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