Twitter users react to Kevin Hart's decision to step down as Oscars host

Kevin Hart will no longer be hosting the Oscars after old tweets he made about gay people resurfaced this week. 

The comedian came under fire after several sites claimed he had been deleting derogatory tweets he made eight years ago about the LGBTQI community after being announced as the 2019 host. 

But it's unclear when the posts were deleted as Kevin has spoken about the controversial tweets several times over the past few years.  

"Yo if my son comes home & try's 2 play with my daughters doll house I'm going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that's gay'," one tweet read. 

Academy Awards officials reportedly told the actor to apologise for his old tweets or face losing his hosting gig. 

Kevin had initially refused to apologise. 

"Stop looking for reasons to be negative…stop searching for reasons to be angry...I swear I wish you guys could see/feel/understand the mental place that I am in. I am truly happy people… there is nothing that you can do to change that….NOTHING,' he said in an Instagram video. 

But it looks like 'The Wedding Ringer' star has had a change of heart.

"I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's....this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past," he tweeted.

The 39-year-old added that he still hoped to host the Oscars in the future. 

"I'm sorry that I hurt people... I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart. Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again." 

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Kevin took to Instagram to explain why he initially refused to apologise. 

"I'm not going to go back and tap into the days of old when I have moved on and I am in a completely different space in my life... The same energy that went into finding those tweets could be the same energy to finding the response to the questions that have been asked," he said in the video.

He also talked about the old tweets in a 2015 Rolling Stone interview.

"I wouldn’t tell that joke today, because when I said it, the times weren’t as sensitive as they are now. I think we love to make big deals out of things that aren’t necessarily big deals, because we can.... So why set yourself up for failure?” he told the publication. 

Here's how social media users reacted to Kevin stepping down as host of next year's Oscars.

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Main image courtesy of Instagram/@kevinhart4real