Kevin Hart is no stranger to controversy. The beloved star, who happens to be one of the highest paid comedians in the world, has been rather candid about the lessons he’s learned during a life in the spotlight; especially when it comes to public backlash. His Netflix docu-series,
Kevin Hart: Don’t F**k This Up, which aired following a near-fatal car accident, gave fans an intimate look at the controversies he’s faced, as well as his approach to both forgiveness and growth. And now, Hart is coming to the defence of two of his famous friends, Ellen DeGeneres and Nick Cannon, who have recently come under fire.For fans wondering why Hart has been so vocal in his support for both parties — well, he can explain. In a recent interview with
Deadline, Hart opened up about his decision to defend DeGeneres and Cannon, even if it brought a potentially negative spotlight back on him.“Well, I don’t lose sight of the definition of friendship, and in our business, it’s one thing that people don’t really hold on to. There’s a lot of relationships that are fake, and there’s some that are real,” he began. “In my case, the ones that are real are the ones that I’m always going to be adamant about speaking on behalf of. I know the people that both of them are, and knowing the people, all I can say is my experiences with those people. That’s not to take away from what other people are saying that they have had, and that they have done. It’s just to highlight what I’m saying I know, and what I can speak on behalf of.”Continuing on, the comedian noted that he knows, from experience, how dark these times can get. “I know how lonely it gets, because I know that these are times when people just turn their back on you. So for the ones that you love, that are close to your heart, you just want them to have some support, when it seems that there is none out there, and that’s just who I am as a person.”Fans are surely aware that
The Ellen Degeneres Show has recently come under speculation amid a slew of workplace complaints. Tuesday, Warner Bros announced that top producers, Ed Glavin, Kevin Leman and Jonathan Norman
have been let go from the show. Cannon, on the other hand, faced criticisms for making
anti-Semitic comments on his podcast,
Cannon’s Class.“When it comes to Nick, and it comes [to] Ellen, I know who they are, and I know who they’ve been for the years that I’ve been around them, and I can only speak to that,” says Hart. “Those are two of the most amazing people that I know.”[video_embed id='2003272']WATCH: ‘The Ellen Show’ workplace under investigation[/video_embed]If anything, Hart’s response of both Degeneres and Cannon should come as no surprise, as Hart has been especially vocal about his stance on cancel culture during interviews, often noting that he "doesn’t want to be in a world where we forget how to forgive, where we forget how to be people." Hart, of course, found himself at the wrong side of cancel culture in 2018 when he was announced as the host of the 91st Academy Awards, only to be
called to step down in the following weeks after past homophobic remarks resurfaced.“We’re letting people control and dictate the start and finish of people’s lives, and if we are in a time of finding any type of solution to the fight of equality and change, which seems to be a global fight now — a global fight of people being treated fairly, change, understanding and accepting the past, but preparing for a better future — that means that we can’t be in a position where we’re contradicting ourselves,” Hart explains in the interview. “If people [have done something] wrong, the idea of canceling those people, and ending whatever career or thing they have…If it’s just over, then what’s the teachable moment for them? What, it’s over, and then you can’t do nothing else for the rest of your life, because you made a mistake?”[video_embed id='1995504']WATCH: Nick Cannon fired by ViacomCBS for anti-Semitic remarks[/video_embed]
