Kevin Hart says cancel culture would have stopped his rise as a comedian

Kevin Hart is the latest comedian to comment on how cancel culture is affecting comedy.

In May, Chris Rock dropped his thoughts on the subject while speaking with the Breakfast Club as he promoted his new film “Spiral”. Now, Kevin Hart, in a recent interview with Sunday Times, lent his voice to the topic as well.

The comedian and actor has a new film, “Fatherhood,” set to premiere on Netflix on Fathers Day weekend (18 June). Hart, who isn’t a stranger to past mistakes and backlash, referred to the 2019 saga that made him step down from hosting the OSCARS.

“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*** up! What are you talking about?” said Kevin.

“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,” he continued. “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 sh*t, [sic]” he added.

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Kevin went on to say he has been cancelled several times, but doesn’t let that bother him or affect him personally. Speaking on cancel culture and its effects on comedy, he had this to say: “You’re thinking that things you say will come back and bite you on the *ss. I can’t be the comic today that I was when I got into this.”

Speaking further on the issue, the comedian added, “Somehow, we forgot comedians are going for the laugh. You’re not saying something to make people angry. That’s not why I’m on stage. I’m trying to make you laugh and if I did not make you laugh I failed. That’s my consequence.”

He also expressed his thoughts on the practice of going back to dig up something that someone said a long time ago. Hart said that simply means, “[they’re] looking at a younger version of [himself]”. According to him, even he cringes when he reads some of the things he said in the past. He is sorry about them and has made apologies.

In his words, “it’s growth. It’s about growth.”

The comedian’s take on cancel culture isn’t too different from how Chris Rock saw it in his interview last month. Truly, the terrain is different now, and there is much less tolerance in the world. The world is adjusting, however, just like always. Artists are constantly devising other ways to create engaging content without stepping on toes.

It is left to see how much this takes away from the nature of the art form. At the end of the day, nobody wants to get cancelled. Being cancelled can not only end a career, but it can also ruin a mean’s of livelihood.

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