Kevin Hart: If people choose to take offence to something, then that’s a choice
The actor defended saying he would do anything to prevent his son from being gay
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Kevin Hart says being offended by a joke is a “choice”.
The actor and comedian came under fire after past homophobic tweets and comments were unveiled after he was announced to be hosting the Academy Awards.
However, following criticism, Hart stepped down from hosting responsibilities after he was asked to apologise for his comments, which included saying he would try and prevent his son from being gay if he could.
But now, while speaking to Terry Gross of NPR’s Fresh Air, Hart defended his joke and said people got offended because “times today are so sensitive”.
He said: “I think that’s taking a joking and putting a context that you’re determining it should be on it.
“The joke was made with light intentions. It’s not that deep-rooted, but because of the time of today, people look at it, and they dissect it.
“And then I say, but as a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I would. It’s a joke.
“It’s called a segue. The segue was to get into the joke about something that really happened at a party where my son was playing, and there was another boy playing with him. And I was like, hey, all right, that’s enough of that.
“But because times today are so sensitive, we forget the jokes are made with the intensive purpose of making people laugh, not to hurt. That’s not the purpose behind the joke.
“To me, when I did it, I thought that it would be funny. So, if people choose to take offence to something, then that’s a choice.”