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Tiffany Haddish Stands by Kevin Hart After Oscars 2019 Hosting Controversy: ‘We Pray’ (Exclusive)

That’s what friends are for. After Kevin Hart stepped down from hosting the 2019 Oscars amid controversy surrounding his past homophobic tweets, pal Tiffany Haddish spoke to her fellow comedian privately about the debacle.

Related: Oscars 2019: Everything You Need to Know

“I have talked to Kevin about it,” Haddish, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly at Cadillac’s Fourth Annual Oscars Cocktail Party at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood on Thursday, February 21.

Tiffany Haddish Admits She Has Spoken to Kevin Hart About Oscars 2019
Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart arrive at the premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Night School”. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

As for how they handled the ordeal together, the actress said of herself and her Night School costar: “We just, we pray.”

Hart, also 39, informed the public of his decision to pull out of the awards show in December 2018, hours after he was announced as host. “I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s,” he tweeted at the time. “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.”

Related: Celebs Fight Back on Social Media

He added: “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.”

The Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle actor made headlines after his since-deleted anti-LGBTQ tweets resurfaced. “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay,'” he tweeted in 2011. (Hart shares daughter Heaven, 13, and son Hendrix, 11, with ex Torrei Hart and 14-month-old son Kenzo with wife Eniko Parrish.)

Multiple sources confirmed to Us Weekly that there will be no host at this year’s Academy Awards. This marks the first time that the ceremony will operate without someone guiding the show since 1989.

Related: Oscars Hosts: Best and Worst Moments Ever

The Girls Trip actress, who presented at the 2018 Oscars with Maya Rudolph, told Us and other reporters that she has no plans to oversee this year’s big event. “I’m not hosting on Sunday because I might have said something in the past that I ain’t apologized for,” she said. “I don’t know!”

Haddish shared similar sentiments earlier this month. “I mean, Kevin would’ve hosted it this year if [people] weren’t tripping off of things that he said in his past that he already apologized for,” she said in Hart’s defense during an interview with British TV personality Lorraine Kelly. “I say a lot of things and I don’t apologize because I think before I speak, if I say it, I mean it. … Nobody’s perfect. From my mistakes I have become a success and I learn not to make them again.”

The 91st annual Academy Awards airs on ABC Sunday, February 24, at 8 p.m. ET.

With reporting by Emily Marcus

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