Kevin Hart Will Not Host the Oscars, Say Academy Sources

After 47 years, the Kevin Hart Oscars saga is finally coming to a close.

Deadlinereports that Kevin Hart will not be hosting the 91st Academy Awards after all, despite Ellen DeGeneres' arguably misguided efforts to get the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the general public back on the comedian's side following Homophobic Tweetgate.

Multiple unnamed sources told Deadline that the decision was Hart's, as he feared he'd be a "distraction" if he resumed his hosting duties for the Feb. 24 ceremony. The comedian was also concerned about how little time he'd have to prepare. Instead, the show will go on with a bunch of big-name presenters in lieu of a single host, sources say.

In case you don't know the backstory on this entire solitary shenanigan (how?!): the Academy announced that Hart would host the Oscars in early December. Two days later, he stepped down after some homophobic tweets of his resurfaced on Twitter. Gays love the Oscars as much as they don't love homophobic tweets, so the tweets, and his initial refusal to apologize, just weren't a good look overall.

Last week, former Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres had Hart on her daytime talk show to basically pardon him for all the homophobic jokes ("jokes") he'd made about beating up his son if he thought he might be gay. But the pardon itself kicked off another round of controversy.

"Ellen can't and doesn't speak for me," OUT Director of Culture & Entertainment Tre'vell Anderson wrote Friday. CNN's Don Lemon also walked though his concerns in a segment of his show, saying that "apologizing and moving on doesn't make the world a better place for people who are gay or people who are transgender." He then called on Hart to consider using his "megaphone" to become an ally to LGBTQ+ people, but it seems the comedian has had enough.

My mother will be so happy to hear that this saga's coming to a close. She was just a little girl when the Academy first announced that Kevin Hart would host the Oscars, and now it's over! Peace at last, Mom. Peace at last...