Kevin Hart Says He'll Never Host The Oscars - And For Good Reason

Kevin Hart won't be hosting an awards show any time soon — especially the Oscars. He came close to hosting the Academy Awards back in 2019 but was ultimately relieved of his hosting duties after a string of controversial social media posts resurfaced.

Apparently, the comedian and movie star doesn't have many regrets about not hosting the ceremony. "Those gigs aren't good gigs for comics," Hart told Sky News. "It's no shot to the Oscars, no shot to the Globes or anything else. Those just aren't comedy-friendly environments anymore. I think they got it right one year where it was like just a bunch of personalities acting as the hosts and that's a nice thing. It's a collaborative thing, different people get to be responsible for act one, act two, act three, but you know, the days of it being a room for a comic, those days are done."

Hart's comments come on the heels of stand-up comic Jo Koy's Golden Globes hosting gig, which wasn't particularly well-received (but more on that in a minute). Still, it's clear that even if the Academy invited him back, Hart isn't interested in emceeing cinema's biggest night. However, he did admit that some comedians have figured out how to run major awards shows effectively.

Though Kevin Hart says he doesn't think comedians have a leg up when it comes to hosting awards ceremonies, he did give a shout-out to some comedians he thinks have gotten it right.

"Shout out to those that have cracked the code and done it right early on, you know, the Chris Rock's of the world, the Billy Crystal's of the world, the Globes we've had like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler. Ricky Gervais," Hart said, naming several repeat awards show hosts. Billy Crystal has hosted the Oscars nine times as of this writing, and while Chris Rock has only hosted twice, he definitely went down in Academy history after his onstage altercation with Will Smith. As for Ricky Gervais, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey, they've all successfully hosted the Golden Globes; Gervais has hosted five times, while Poehler and Fey hosted four times, three of which were consecutive.

So why were these comedians well received at awards shows? "There's a lot of people that understand that if you're not an industry comic, meaning a comic that has the relationships of all [the guests], then those rooms are very cold," Hart explained. "So, me doing it is, of course, at an advantage, because I know the room and for me, and familiar with so many. But, for others it's not the same."

During an appearance on the Bravo late night staple "Watch What Happens Live," Kevin Hart also stood behind the controversial Golden Globes host Jo Koy, whose unsuccessful outing took place on January 7. "Jo's fine," Hart told host Andy Cohen. "Jo Koy is a phenomenal comedian; he sells out arenas everywhere. If I'm Jo, I don't let it get to me. Let it slide off your back. You're fine. You'll be fine. You're a talented and successful comic."

Despite what Hart says about it being a tough gig, it's easy to argue that Koy made things tougher on himself by yelling at the audience for not laughing at his jokes. Perhaps more egregiously, he took a swipe at his writers; when he started bombing, he insisted that only the jokes he wrote were going over well — which isn't a good look, particularly in the aftermath of the historic writer's strike in 2023. Worst of all, he took a jab at America's sweetheart Taylor Swift for simply existing at NFL games (specifically, ones where her beau Travis Kelce plays for the Kansas City Chiefs).

Since then, Koy has found a new target to blame: the "sensitive" audience at the Golden Globes. During a recent stand-up set in St. Louis (per Variety), Koy said, "Lot a marshmallows, man. They're delicious, but goddamn, they're soft. I just come from a different time. I see the changes that are happening. I get it, but goddamn, can we f****** laugh at ourselves?" Sure, that's one possibility — but it's also entirely plausible that jokes about Barbie having "big boobies" are just lame.