Before I get into my thoughts, it might be a worth a refresher on why Hart, one of the most profitable and prolific movie stars working today, found himself in this situation to begin with. Hart, who has enjoyed leading film roles for most of this decade but spent the decade before as an in-demand stand-up comedian, had a number of his past tweets and comedy routines come forward with frequently homophobic language. He joked about beating his son for being gay, called another comedian "a billboard for AIDS," and used the word "fag" in several tweets in reference to gay men. Hart's defense in the past was that people were more sensitive about such things at the time, but while he had addressed the jokes previously and said he wouldn't make them again, he had never actually apologized and in fact didn't apologize after the uproar of these tweets threatened his hosting gig. Only after he chose not to host the Oscars did Hart finally apologize upon stating that he would not host the ceremony this year.
Since then, though, Hart has shown less genuine remorse and more felt that he was the victim of "PC Culture" and "internet mobs." He frequently complained about how he had apologized and was being robbed of his dream job, but rarely seemed to reflect that the complaints of the people he had apologized to were valid. He had, in fact, said homophobic things. That might not make him a homophobe, per se (he could have just been misinformed about what these sorts of attacks mean), but it does mean that if he genuinely wants to set a different example for his career and for his fans, he needs to acknowledge that what he did was not only wrong, but contributed to a more homophobic society.
Because the reality is that jokes like those made by Hart actually do have real-world damage because they are emulated by his fans and seen as acceptable behavior by society as a whole. I can tell you this through personal experience-most people learn they're gay not through their own burgeoning sexuality or through self-reflection-they learn it because they're being bullied for being gay. I was called a "fag" for the first time when I was about ten, and it wasn't the last time it happened. I understood what being gay was as a "negative" thing because it's what I was taught in pop culture. What happens in movies, tv, and now social media is what shapes our perceptions of each other and ourselves. When Kevin Hart, a straight man with a giant, privileged platform, gets to call gay men derogatory terms and joke about violence against young gay men, those people who dream of becoming "the next Kevin Hart" get to do so as well. And that, whether intentionally or not, contributes to a culture of violence and prejudice against LGBT people.
This is something that makes many people, and indeed many people whom I've had this conversation with in real life, really uncomfortable. The reality is that we've all said or done things in our past that we wouldn't want to be judged by today. I know it's true for me that I've said things or made comments that I would instantly apologize for today because I've learned the context of what those statements mean. While I've largely avoided saying homophobic things (being gay helps in this regard), my gut tells me that most if not all of the straight men in my life, emulating the forefathers of Kevin Hart on a playground or school bus, have probably said something homophobic either in jest or with the comfort of their other friends condoning their behavior at some point in their lives. We emulate what we see as acceptable in those we look up to, and while they would regret & likely wouldn't wish to do it today, that doesn't mean that the pain it caused at the time wasn't real, and didn't impact someone's life. As a gay man in his mid-thirties who still struggles in crowds and whose idea of self-worth is still damaged by years of self-hatred brought on by this level of bullying, I can attest to this fact. I can also say that if one of the men who bullied me as a kid and teenager genuinely apologized to me now, I would accept that apology because I understand that people change and grow as we learn, and that's something we should all embrace-we can't change the past, but it's not acceptable to ignore it either. Had Kevin Hart simply given a genuine apology right away, this probably would have blown over.
But Hart relied on "it's just a joke" as if that's an answer, and this points to one of the larger problems with the field of comedy in particular, an area of entertainment dominated in large part by straight men. Threatened by a society that demands they, quite literally, "change their act," comedians ranging from Hart to Louis CK to Dave Chapelle bemoan having to reduce the homophobia or transphobia or their acts, and instead put the blame on LGBT people for being "too sensitive." Never mind that their acts have real-world consequences. Never mind that that you would struggle to name even one gay male comedian who has enjoyed the success of a Hart or CK or Chapelle (because there isn't one). And never mind that many times, as is the case of Hart's tweets above, these comedians are less "telling jokes" and more running into a room and shouting "you're so gay!" and demanding a laugh as a result. "It's just a joke" sits alongside "it's just locker room talk" as an excuse to continue to demonize people different than you.
No one should understand this more than Ellen Degeneres. Few gay entertainers have taken as many bold actions in their careers as Degeneres, who decided to risk her television show in the mid-90's to make a stand for gay rights, appearing both on and off-screen as a lesbian woman. Her career did suffer as a result of this-her show was quickly cancelled, and she struggled to find work until Finding Nemo and her talk show eventually made her into one of America's most beloved entertainers. It's difficult for me to outwardly criticize a woman who has meant so much to the gay community, and whose advocacy & bravery helped change the conversation about gay rights in America. Ellen coming out was the first time in my whole life I heard of a person being gay and didn't internalize it as something that was dangerous or something to hate in myself; I'm not alone in that regard. It is hard for me to fault Degeneres for the largely milquetoast direction she's taken her career since-considering what initially coming out cost her, I don't expect her to continue to be a rebel for the cause & continually risk her career for the remainder of her life just because she was the first. I also understand the microscope she is under as arguably the most famous gay person in the United States, to have a picture perfect life/marriage/career since to many people, she's their go-to gay person of reference. Had she just not said anything, I don't think anyone would have cared that she hadn't weighed in on the Kevin Hart story.
But she did weigh in, and as a result contributed negatively to her brothers and sisters in the gay community. By ignoring Hart's homophobic remarks and his refusal to take any responsibility for them, she chooses to absolve him rather than focus on the hurt he did to LGBT people. This is likely due to her now enjoying an impossibly elevated status of privilege as a famous, wealthy celebrity rather than someone who faces the potential violence of homophobia and transphobia still prevalent in the United States and around the world. It might also have to do with her catering to respectability politics and trying to make Middle America comfortable, even if it encourages prejudice against gay men. Whatever the reasons, Degeneres hurt the gay community and their quest for equality and a world free from discrimination by using her position as a gay rights pioneer to try and help out Hart without letting him learn something from this experience. If the Academy follows suit (which they may well do), it will appear as if what Hart said didn't matter, that he should only try and be supportive to LGBT people when there's something in it for him. Degeneres badly bruised her legacy, in my opinion, by attempting to "make everything nice," but in the process just making a straight man who said homophobic things comfortable while further marginalizing LGBT people who are the real-world victims of Hart's comments and the culture they create.
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