In honor of the Academy Awards happening later tonight, one street artist raised a Kevin Hart statue in protest (and jest).
The artist known as Plastic Jesus installed a golden statue of Kevin Hart that’s holding a rainbow flag with the words “Hollow Apology” written on it.
The statue is located near the Dolby Theater in Hollywood where the event will take place. In his Instagram post to share the statue with the world, Plastic Jesus wrote:
“’AND THE WINNER IS….’ This year’s Oscar statue ‘Hollow Apology’ featuring Kevin Hart. Over the past decades most countries have made great inroads fighting homophobia and hate, however the current divisive rhetoric seems to have taken us back to the 1970’s. So much of the Entertainment industry output comes from LGBTQ Individuals we should be celebrating it and not creating a hateful environment.”
Plastic Jesus’s statue is in reaction to the Kevin Hart controversy that led the Oscars without a host.
Back in December, comedian Kevin Hart was announced to be the host of the 91st Oscar Awards. But as soon as that announcement was made, someone went through Hart’s tweets and dug up a bunch of old homophobic comments.
Of course, the internet then turned its daggers at the comedian. Several LGBTQ talents also shared their distaste with Hart after finding out about his past tweets, which made jokes about homosexuality and also stated that he’d hit is kid for acting gay.
Feeling the pressure of the Twitter army against him, Hart decided to buckle down instead of apologizing. Instead of simply stating that he has evolved from the person that he once was, he focused on not relenting to his opposition. Eventually, he decided to resign from hosting instead.
He then later apologized several times through Instagram, a radio interview, and while talking to Ellen DeGeneres.
But as the Oscars run later tonight, many will remember the tweet read round world and the man who text them.
