Comedian Kevin Hart has been no stranger to controversy over the years. From cheating scandals to offensive old tweets, the comedian understands the consequences of cancel culture better than most. Hart spoke on this during a recent interview with The Sunday Times, where he blasted what he sees as the often overdramatized and nonsensical cycle of small mistakes leading to large-scale consequences.
“When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect?” he ponders, in the Times profile. “Where people were supposed to operate perfectly all the time? I don’t expect perfection from my kids. I don’t expect it from my wife, friends, employees. Because, last I checked, the only way you grow up is from f**king up.” Clearly, Hart finds that the practice of cancel culture casts too broad a net and stops people from engaging in a learning process.
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Hart himself lost his role as the host of the Oscars in 2019 because of homophobic tweets he had made years before, but states that it did not bother him: “I’ve been canceled, what, three or four times? Never bothered. If you allow it to have an effect on you, it will.”
Still, despite his criticism of the practice and seemingly unbothered attitude towards his own controversy, Hart admits that cancel culture consequences are appropriate for some: “If somebody has done something truly damaging then, absolutely, a consequence should be attached.” He goes on to say that this shouldn’t include those who simply hold opposing views to the mainstream.
Hart is now joining a handful of celebrities and important figures who are speaking out against the potential damages of cancel culture. Do you think that the practice is going too far? Does it do more good than bad?