BY BONITA • JANUARY 4, 2019

At the time of his decision to step down, Hart took to social media to express his sentiments. He was evidently frustrated with the Internet’s tendency to “cancel” people based on things like old Tweets. “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,” he said. Frustration may have been even more acute because Hart had previously addressed those homophobic remarks, years prior to his being named host of the Oscars. Despite whatever feelings he may have had about the fairness of the backlash, he decided to separate himself from the Academy Awards so as not to be a distraction.

Hart’s decision to step down received a fair amount of backlash, too. Many felt it was a reactionary step and, had he given it more time, the up-in-arms fervor would have died down. Now that two months have passed, it seems Hart may be feeling similarly. On today’s (January 4) episode of Ellen, Hart sat with host Ellen Degeneres and spoke candidly about revisiting his decision to pass up the Oscars gig and potential for return. Addressing the “onslaught of social media about my past coming back up again,” Hart tells Ellen his initial plan was to ignore the criticism. “I was going to ignore it, because it’s 10 years old. This is stuff I’ve addressed. I’ve talked about this. This isn’t new.”

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