(UNI) US comedian and actor Kevin Hart says he has stepped down from hosting the 2019 Oscars following a controversy over homophobic tweets.
The Oscars will take place in Los Angeles on 24 February 2019.
According to a BBC News report, he said he did not want to be a distraction and that he was “sorry he had hurt people”.
The choice of Hart for host was only announced on Tuesday.
But tweets from a decade ago emerged of anti-gay slurs, sparking calls for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to drop him.
Kevin Hart had said hosting the Oscars was “a goal on my list for a long time”.
But in a tweet late on Thursday he said he had chosen to step down “because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists”.
He said: “I sincerely apologise to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words of the past.”
