The show must go on. Kevin Hart performed stand-up in Sydney, Australia, hours after he stepped down from hosting the 2019 Oscars amid his homophobic Twitter controversy.
“Kevin came on late but kept to his script. He seemed to be touched by the hugely enthusiastic response from the audience,” a source tells Us Weekly exclusively. “At one point during his act, when he was discussing his cheating scandal, he said, ‘Always embrace your flaws and f—k ups.’ He repeated it a couple of times.” (Hart previously admitted to cheating on his wife, Eniko Parrish, in December 2017.)
The 39-year-old made headlines on Thursday, December 6, after homophobic tweets from 2009 to 2011 resurfaced. After initially claiming he would not apologize for his past words, the comedian announced that he would no longer host the Academy Awards.
“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,” the Night School star tweeted on Thursday. “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.”
Hart also tweeted a Martin Luther King Jr. quote on Friday: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Despite the scandal, the source tells Us that Hart was “very upbeat” during his performance.
“He was onstage for about an hour and remained in a good mood throughout, even cracking up laughing at one of his jokes about having his house broken into,” the source explains. “No one specifically mentioned the Oscars at all.”
The source adds, however, that Hart’s opening act Joey Wells did appear to reference the controversy during his set, noting that it’s been “a hell of a day.”
