NEW YORK (AP) – Prodded by Ellen DeGeneres, comic Kevin Hart says he’ll reconsider his decision to step down as host of the Academy Awards.
Hart had backed away two days after being named host last month when some homophobic tweets he had made a decade ago resurfaced. But DeGeneres urged him to host the show during an interview that aired Friday on her talk show.
The motion picture Academy has not named a replacement host for its Feb. 24 awards show.
“You have grown,” DeGeneres told him. “You have apologized. You’re apologizing again right now. You’ve done it. Don’t let these people win. Host the Oscars.”
She applied subtle pressure by saying after one commercial break, “We’re back with this year’s Oscars host, Kevin Hart.”