Kevin Hart Says No to Hosting Oscars Again: ‘It’s Not Going to Happen’

Kevin Hart confirmed to Andy Cohen that hosting a future Academy Awards ceremony is “not going to happen.”

Fans hoping that Kevin Hart will one day host the Oscars will be disappointed.

In an interview with Andy Cohen on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, which aired Friday, the comedian stated unequivocally that the gig is “not going to happen.”

“Kill the idea of it, it’s not going to happen,” Hart, 44, said when Cohen said he was “still ready” for him to host the Academy Awards — and the in-studio audience applauded the idea.

“There’s just no return of good,” Hart added. “What does it do for me?” At this point, there is no way out. That is the only reason.”

Hart was announced as the 91st Oscar ceremony’s emcee in 2018 — until a backlash over previous homophobic comments he’d made on social media forced him to step down. The Academy then decided against having a host for the 2019 ceremony.

“Some would call it a thankless job,” Cohen, 55, said of the gig, which has been taken on by comedians throughout Oscar history, including Richard Pryor, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Stewart, and Chris Rock.

“Some would,” Hart replied. “However, you can’t dismiss the stage that the Oscars provide.” It’s an incredible stage with millions of views.”

“I think at a point in my career, it was something that acted as a bump and want, just to get a notch in my belt of something else that I was able to obtain and view,” the Lift star continued. But I’m way beyond and beyond that. But I don’t need that right now.”

Hart has previously hosted the BET Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and MTV Movie Awards, in addition to his hit movies and comedy tours. He will be honored as the 25th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on March 24.

Following his appearance on What Happens Live, the comedian told Sky News on Friday that the Oscars were off the table.

“Whatever little hope you had, I want to destroy it right now,” he told the publication. “Those aren’t good gigs for comedians.” It’s not a shot at the Oscars, the Globes, or anything else. Those are no longer comedy-friendly environments… “The days of it being a comic book room are over.”

When Hart stepped down from the Oscars in 2018, he issued an apology to the LGBTQ+ community for the resurfaced tweets that sparked public outrage. “I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists,” he wrote in a blog post. “I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”

That announcement came just over an hour after he vowed in an Instagram video not to comply with the Academy’s request for an apology. “I know who I am, and so do the people who are closest to me,” Hart said at the time.

“I passed [on apologizing] because I’ve addressed this several times.” This isn’t the first time something like this has come up. I took care of it. I’ve discussed it. I’ve stated what was right and wrong. I’ve stated who I am now as opposed to who I was then.”

In an interview with Cohen, the Me Time actor addressed comedian Jo Koy, who hosted the Golden Globes on Sunday. “That’s a tough room,” Hart admitted. “It’s an industry room where the expectation is for something to happen. So, everyone is nervous, wondering, ‘What are you going to say about me?'”

Lift, starring Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Sam Worthington, is now available on Netflix. It comes on the heels of the comedian’s other recent Netflix release, the documentary Kevin Hart & Chris Rock: Headliners Only.