More times than not I agree with political-correctness. I'm also not a big fan of Kevin Hart's comedy (or films). Having said that, I think him losing his Oscars-hosting gig due to a couple of age-old homophobic tweets is going a bit far.
Why do we seem to hold comedians to a higher standard than politicians? If Donald Trump had to resign due to an offensive tweet, the guy would never have lasted through the Republican Primary, let alone the general election. Comedians get paid to push the envelope. Sometimes they may go too far, but that's part of the gig. When it comes to their comedy, the big question with regard to socially-sensitive issues like homophobia is, "Is this the epitome of a homophobic comedian or is this a comedian who has dabbled with homophobic jokes in the past, but said jokes aren't representative of his/her material on the whole?" Hart's tweets were certainly homophobic, but they were from years ago, and it appears as though he's evolved on the issue since that time. It's been documented that comedians Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer, and Chelsea Handler have posted homophobic tweets as well (from years ago). Would they be held to the same standard if they were announced to be the next Oscars host? None of these comedians have showcased themselves to be homophobic. They've all appeared to evolve on the matter. Isn't who they've become today of greater importance than who they were 5 to 10 years ago?
Like racism and sexism, homophobia is most certainly wrong. People can change, though, and it does a disservice to continually try and hold down former -ists who have evolved than it would to embrace their positive growth. Nobody's perfect, and those who acknowledge their faults and work to improve upon them are in a better place than those who simply point out others' imperfections.
Why do we seem to hold comedians to a higher standard than politicians? If Donald Trump had to resign due to an offensive tweet, the guy would never have lasted through the Republican Primary, let alone the general election. Comedians get paid to push the envelope. Sometimes they may go too far, but that's part of the gig. When it comes to their comedy, the big question with regard to socially-sensitive issues like homophobia is, "Is this the epitome of a homophobic comedian or is this a comedian who has dabbled with homophobic jokes in the past, but said jokes aren't representative of his/her material on the whole?" Hart's tweets were certainly homophobic, but they were from years ago, and it appears as though he's evolved on the issue since that time. It's been documented that comedians Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer, and Chelsea Handler have posted homophobic tweets as well (from years ago). Would they be held to the same standard if they were announced to be the next Oscars host? None of these comedians have showcased themselves to be homophobic. They've all appeared to evolve on the matter. Isn't who they've become today of greater importance than who they were 5 to 10 years ago?
Like racism and sexism, homophobia is most certainly wrong. People can change, though, and it does a disservice to continually try and hold down former -ists who have evolved than it would to embrace their positive growth. Nobody's perfect, and those who acknowledge their faults and work to improve upon them are in a better place than those who simply point out others' imperfections.
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