Kevin Hart vs. Marc Lamont Hill: Black men losing big jobs for different reasons
Comedian Kevin Hart and Professor Marc Lamont Hill lost big jobs over things they said publicly.
Comedian Kevin Hart Professor Marc Lamont Hill lost big jobs over things they said publicly.
Hart stepped down from hosting the Oscars after homophobic tweets from 2009 resurfaced. Instead of apologizing– something hart said he did before- he uploaded a video to social media explaining how he got a call from the academy telling him to apologize and that he would pass on the gesture.
But ultimately after the backlash, hart still ended up apologizing anyways tweeting: “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.”
KEVIN HART STEPS DOWN AS OSCARS HOST AFTER FIRESTORM OVER HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS
“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.”
Was it arrogance or ignorance? Or is Kevin making a point about how the culture should accept people’s growth?
Professor Marc Lamont Hill, recently delivered a speech at the United Nations, where he addressed the Palestinian and Israeli conflict. Hill’s speech advocated for Palestine and explicitly criticized Israel. But it was the line to free “Palestine from the river to the sea,” that critics interpreted as advocating violence against Israel.
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY CHAIRMAN LASHES OUT AT MARC LAMONT HILL, CHARGING HIM WITH ‘HATE SPEECH’
In response, CNN fired him from his commentator role. Instead of hill saying “I said what I said, he penned an op-ed to the temple news saying: “I unequivocally reject anti-semitism in any form or fashion,” and that he is “keenly aware of the threats faced by jewish people around the world.”
“Specifically, they believe that the phrase signified a call to physically destroy the state of israel, or otherwise do harm to jewish people. To be clear, this was not my intention at all. Indeed, I have genuinely saddened that my comments produced such an interpretation.”
CNN RECEIVING BACKLASH FOR FIRING MARC LAMONT HILL AFTER HIS COMMENTS SUPPORTING PALESTINE
Still, the pressure is mounting to release Hill from his professor job at Temple University but a group of professors have signed a petition in his support.
Between Hart and Hill, these were two very different responses to critics but both men are still facing a storm of controversy.
So who handled it better? and what should happen in each case?
Hit us up in the comments and let us know your thoughts.
