The Kevin Hart Oscars "scandal" has taken a new turn... towards, blessedly, a reasonable conclusion.
Billy Eichner took to Twitter recently to give his two cents on the flap. In case you missed it, Kevin Hart was recently tapped to host the Oscars last week, but by week's end had resigned from the job after tweets from 2009 and 2010 resurfaced in which Hart made homophobic jokes and used the dreaded "f-word" in reference to gay people. Hart first addressed the controversy on Instagram, explaining that he'd changed since then, before issuing an apology on Twitter.
But that wasn't good enough for many people, who moved quickly to "cancel" Kevin Hart. Actor Nick Cannon then dug up old tweets from white female comedians like Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer and Chelsea Handler that used the "f-word," attempting to point out a double standard.
Eichner, as a gay male comedian, has apparently been asked to share his views, and he did so reasonably and cogently in a recent Twitter post. His remedy for this entire problem? "Just don't use that word. It's as simple as that. There are so many other words to use."
A simple, reasonable and easy-to-implement policy for easily avoiding this sort of flap. Sign us up!
In screenshots of longer statements, Eichner also addressed Cannon's suggestion that a double standard is at play, saying, "Nick's point is a compelling one." However, he went on to explain, Cannon's point is divorced from important nuance:
"I think these are comedians who felt they can use that term because they have very large, dedicated gay male followings, myself included. They feel like they're 'one of us.' So I think in some cases it was being used with what is intended as some sort of endearing, if irreverent, affection."
And, perhaps most importantly, that they were using the "f-word" slur in vastly different contexts than was Hart:
"And I do think there is a sizable difference between using this one word in this type of context and saying with some amount of gravity and truth that you're going to smash a dollhouse over your child's head if they exhibit stereotypically gay behavior."
But Eichner made a point to voice his distaste for some factions' attempts to end Hart's career over the tweets--and, in true Billy Eichner form, ended with a joke.
"I'm into conversation, not cancellation. I'm into owning up to past mistakes, acknowledging blindspots and hurtful remarks, talking through it, discussing it, learning, moving past it and making progress together. And with that I would like to announce my candidacy for President of the United States. Just kidding."
Eichner's response drew wide kudos on Twitter:
Thanks Billy, for the voice of reason in an age gone mad. Now about that Presidential run...
@priscillachan/Instagram