NEW YORK (1010 WINS/AP) -- Ellen DeGeneres has gone to bat for Kevin Hart by calling the organizers of the Academy Awards to ask that they reconsider having Hart host the Oscars.
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In an interview on 'The Ellen Show' that airs Friday afternoon, Hart said he would reconsider his decision to step down as host amid controversy over homophobic tweets from years ago.
Immediately after Hart was confirmed as host, some journalists began tweeting reminders of Hart's past comments and a few publications had written articles about them. The outrage escalated, Hart commented but did not apologize, stoking even more outrage, which culminated with Hart's announcement in December that he was stepping down as host of the 91st Academy Awards.
Hart eventually apologized for the tweets.
DeGeneres said she believes in second chances and that she believes in Hart.
"You have grown," DeGeneres told him. "You have apologized. You're apologizing again right now. You've done it. Don't let these people win. Host the Oscars."
She applied subtle pressure by saying after one commercial break, "We're back with this year's Oscars host, Kevin Hart."
Hart told her that "you have put a lot of things on my mind" and that he would think about their conversation.
But not everyone sees it the same way. De Generes faced backlash on Twitter, with some users saying they felt betrayed by De Generes, and another saying "not cool."
The film academy moved up this year's ceremony to Feb. 24, and producers have still not found a replacement.