Following Anti-Gay Tweets, Kevin Hart Steps Down as Oscar Host

He only had the job for two days

This week, ABC and the Academy of Motion Pictures had tapped a new celebrity Oscars host who seemed to have the Midas touch with brands—Kevin Hart—to help reverse the ceremony’s ratings spiral. “I will be sure to make this years Oscars a special one,” Hart said on Tuesday night. “Now it’s time to rise to the occasion.”

Instead, in a rare marketing misfire for the comedian, Hart stepped down as Oscars host late Thursday night—just two days after he got the job—after a growing controversy over old homophobic tweets of his that had resurfaced this week.

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