Kevin Hart reflects on the time he received advice from fellow comedian and actor Wanda Sykes after his homophobic jokes resurfaced six years ago.
In a recent interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes, Hart said that Sykes was “the best lightbulb ever.” He said, “Wanda Sykes said, ‘There’s people that are being hurt today because of comments like the ones that you made then. And there’s people that were saying it’s okay to make those comments today based off of what you did then. ’”
The jokes that he is referring to came from his 2010 stand-up special Seriously Funny. In the special, he joked about being disgusted about potentially having a gay son. He also said that the someone’s profile picture looked like “a gay bill board for AIDS,” according to reports.
Hart also credits Sykes for putting things into perspective for him. “It was presented to me in a way where I couldn’t ignore that,” he said. “So in those moments of despair, great understanding and education can come out of it, if you’re given the opportunity.”
When the comments initially came out, the 44-year-old comedian refused to apologize, although he was set to host the 2018 Oscars. He was given an ultimatum by the Academy and addressed it in a video on social media then. “I’ve addressed it. I’ve spoken on it. I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were.”
He would tweet an apology the next day and then step down from hosting. Hart said that his reason was that he didn’t “want to be a distraction on the night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists.” He also apologized to the LGBTQ+ community.