Rant Mode: Kevin Hart, DL Hughley and Homophobia

Just some thoughts on that whole Kevin Hart booted off the Oscars for an old homophobic Tweet about how he’d beat his son for being gay if he found him playing with dolls. But there was more from Hart; he wondered about a man’s profile picture on Twitter:

“Why does @DamienDW profile pic look like a gay bill board for AIDS……….Booom, I’m on fire tonight.”

Or howsabout this one:

“Why does @wayne215 have so many pictures of me in his phone!!! What ru some type of FAT F** that takes pic of small black men all day?”

And this:

“@dwadeofficial U should ask the question like this, how many “gay” men sweat when they wear dress shirts, because real men don’t lmao p.s. f**.”

Hilarious. And you can say, all you want, that he Tweeted those things years ago, but violence against a child isn’t funny; portraying gay men to be “less than” and not “real” men isn’t funny; it feeds hate. But hey, a few people laughed, right?

And some people took Hart’s side, and came for others, like Amy Schumer, who also had a year’s old Tweet:

“Enjoy skyfall f**s. I’m bout to get knee deep in Helen Hunt #thesessions.”

Now, do I like that she used the word ‘fag’? No, I don’t; I don’t like when straight people say ‘f**’ as much as I don’t like it when white people say ‘n****r’. I find it offensive, but … Amy’s tweet didn’t threaten violence or physical abuse on a child who might be gay or just might like playing with dolls and playing make believe.

And some are comparing Hart’s “joke” to Oklahoma University quarterback Kyler Murray who, after winning the Heisman, apologized for using the words “queer” and “queers” in old Tweets from 2011 and 2012. The difference between Murray and Hart’s offensive Tweets are two-fold: one is an adult threatening violence to a child and the other was a 14-year-old boy acting the fool; other differences are that as soon as Murray’s Tweets resurfaced, he instantly apologized:

"I apologize for the tweets that have come to light tonight from when I was 14 and 15. I used a poor choice of word that doesn’t reflect who I am or what I believe. I did not intend to single out any individual or group.”

Hart, at first, refused to apologize though, yes, I know, he apologized once already, but again, it’s the violent nature of his Tweets toward his own child that are troubling.

See, there is a difference those Tweets, Kevin Hart, and Nick Cannon, who stepped in to defend Hart, and if you don’t see the difference, then you never will. 

Now, we come to Asshat and ALLEGED comedian DL Hughley who also defended Hart on Twitter and then went after trans female, and Pose actress, Indya Moore when she questioned his rationale. Hughley said:

“A Comedian says something that offends people and refuses to apologize? What do I say?.....Fuck em if they can’t take a joke! Well done “

I wonder how Hughley might feel if the joke was about a black child being beaten or being called the n-word; I mean, surely some people might find that funny.

Moore responded to that:

“I know you don't care! That's what the issue is. You complacent to how you jokes impact the quality peoples lives. You insensitive. I make people laugh all the time without making fun of other people. People around me listen & you give them permission to treat me how they want”

And Hughley stood firm:

“I could give less than a damn what you think if u don’t dig it don’t listen! But I’d never apologize for a joke”

So, DL, if we don’t like what someone is saying, some joke they are making, we should just not listen? And let hate simply stand? Let homophobia be the last word? Let child abuse be laughed at?

Added Moore:  

“There are consequences for the things you say no matter who it makes laugh. So since you don’t give a damn don’t act surprised & defensive when people who do give a damn oppose you- cus what’s a matter of jokes for you is a matter of safety for others…you ain’t gonna sit around and collect money at the expensive of oppressing people and negatively influencing the quality of their life through by how you use they platform. So start buying up stocks buddy cus my generation ain’t having it…your jokes divide people and that’s why you fail as a comedian. By all means don’t apologize, you can be all the clown you want but you will never lead with bullshit.”

Replied Hughley: 

“Fail!! Lol!!!! I make a living doing what love, put kids through college, paid for my homes, and travel the world, and still don’t give a shit what a pussy like u thinks”

Apparently, as long as a joke puts his kids through school, he’ll say whatever he wants and never apologize, but, again, I wonder, as a black man, would he have the same response to a joke about beating a black child? Using the n-word?

It wasn’t the joke, it was Hart’s decision to say he’d beat a child if he thought the child was gay. And anyone who finds that funny, or thinks it compares to other comedians using the f-word, doesn’t get it. Gay people, trans people especially, are being beaten and murdered in this country every single day and it’s not funny.

And it’s no joke. And the way to stop it is at the source; the way to stop it is to stop laughing at it.