'Kill the idea of it': Kevin Hart says hosting Oscars is 'not going to happen', admits those gigs 'aren’t comedy-friendly anymore'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kevin Hart has clearly stated that he has no interest in hosting the Oscars. During an interview on Bravo’s 'Watch What Happens Live' that aired on Thursday, January 11, the comedian told Andy Cohen in no uncertain terms that gig is “not going to happen.” 

“Kill the idea of it, it’s not going to happen,” said Hart, according to People when Cohen stated he was “still ready” for him to host the Academy Awards and the in-studio audience applauded the idea. “There’s just no return of good,” Hart continued. “What is it doing for me? There’s no upside at this point. That’s the only reason why,” he added.

Kevin Hart was announced as the 91st Oscars ceremony’s emcee

Hart was announced as the 91st Oscars ceremony’s emcee in 2018 before controversy over past homophobic comments he’d made on social media forced him to step down. The Academy then decided to have no host for the 2019 ceremony.

“Some would call it a thankless job,” said Cohen, 55, of the gig, which comedians throughout Oscars history, including Richard Pryor, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Stewart, and Chris Rock — have taken on. “Some would,” responded Hart, adding “But you can’t discredit the stage that the Oscars presents. It’s a phenomenal stage, millions of views attached to it.”

The 'Lift' star added, “I think at a point of time in my career, it was something that acted as a bump and want, just to get a notch in my belt of something else that I was able to obtain and view. But I’m far beyond and past that. But I don’t need that at this point.”

Kevin Hart has hosted several award ceremonies before 

Besides his hit movies and comedy tours, Hart has previously hosted the BET Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and the MTV Movie Awards. On March 24, he’ll be honored as the 25th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Following his 'What What Happens Live' appearance, the comedian reiterated the Oscars were off the table in an interview with Sky News posted Friday, January 12. 

“Whatever little hope you had, I want to destroy it right now,” he told the outlet. “Those gigs aren’t good gigs for comics. It’s no shot to the Oscars, no shot to the Globes or anything else. Those just aren’t comedy-friendly environments anymore… The days of it being a room for a comic, those days are done," he added.

When Hart stepped down from the Oscars gig in 2018, he published a statement directed to the LGBTQ+ community for the resurfaced tweets that had caused public outrage. “I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists,” he wrote, adding “I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”

“I know who I am and so do the people closest to me,” Hart said at the time. “The reason why I passed [on apologizing] is because I’ve addressed this several times. This is not the first time this has come up. I’ve addressed it. I’ve spoken on it. I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were. I’ve said who I am now versus who I was then,” he added.