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 The 39-year-old comedian and "Ride Along" actor had announced on
Tuesday that he would host the Academy Awards, the film
industry's highest honors.
"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," Hart said in a tweet late on Thursday.
"I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive
words from my past," he tweeted.
In one of the old tweets, Hart described an actor's picture as a
"gay billboard for AIDS". In another he said if his son were
playing with a doll's house, he would break it over his head and
tell him to stop being gay.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes
the Oscars, was not immediately available for comment.
Chad Griffin, the president of the Washington DC-based LGBTQ
advocacy group, The Human Rights Campaign, responded to Hart on
Twitter late Thursday.
"You have a rare opportunity to take responsibility, teach
people in this moment, & send a message to LBGTQ youth that they
matter & deserve dignity & respect," Griffin wrote.
Hart, who also starred in the 2017 film "Jumanji: Welcome to the
Jungle", would have followed talk show host Jimmy Kimmel who
hosted the Oscars in 2018 and 2017.
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Hart, writing on his Instagram page this week, called the gig "the
opportunity of a lifetime".
"I am so happy to say that the day has finally come for me to host
the Oscars," he said.
The Academy responded on Twitter: "Welcome to the family."
Hosting the Oscars is one of the most prestigious and difficult jobs
in show business, navigating the expectations of the A-list audience
in the theater and millions of people watching on television, with a
combination of topical and insider jokes.
Hart, who is African-American, would have been one of just a handful
of black Oscar hosts over the past 90 years, including Chris Rock,
Whoopi Goldberg and Sammy Davis Jr.
Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 22, with the 2019
televised ceremony taking place in Hollywood on Feb. 24.
(Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru and Rich McKay in Atlanta;
Editing by Darren Schuettler and Peter Graff)
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