Kevin Hart on cancel culture: 'When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect?'

Kevin Hart saw a series of anti-gay tweets from July 2009 to January 2011 resurface in December 2018, around the same time he was announced as the host for the 91st Academy Awards, and he is now speaking out against "cancel culture" in this new The Sunday Times profile.

"I mean, I personally don’t give a s—t about it," Hart said when asked about cancel culture by writer Jonathan Dean. "If somebody has done something truly damaging then, absolutely, a consequence should be attached. But when you just talk about ... nonsense? When you’re talking, ‘Someone said! They need to be taken [down]!’ Shut the f—k up! What are you talking about?"

The 41-year-old actor, stand-up comedian and producer continued: "When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect? Where people were supposed to operate perfectly all the time? I don’t understand. 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—ing up. I don’t know a kid who hasn’t f—ed up or done some dumb s—t."

Hart also addressed the specific cancellation and backlash he faced after his past tweets resurfaced.

"If people want to pull up stuff, go back to the same tweets of old, go ahead," he said, later noting that changing his comedic material has more to do with "backlash" and "intent" than fear of cancel culture. "There is nothing I can do. You're looking at a younger version of myself. A comedian trying to be funny and, at that attempt, failing. Apologies were made. I understand now how it comes off. I look back and cringe. So it's growth. It’s about growth."

Hart tweeted Dec. 6, 2018, that he would no longer host the February 2019 Oscars as well as an apology: