The Golden Globes Weighed In on the Kevin Hart Oscars Controversy

Although it’s more than a month away, the controversy of who might host the Oscars hung over the Golden Globes. Stars on the red carpet and the stage inside The Beverly Hilton had to address Kevin Hart stepping down from the gig after homophobic jokes he made resurfaced. 

Actress and screenwriter Lena Waithe weighed in on Hart’s controversial interview with Ellen DeGeneres while on the red carpet.

“We can’t get mad about having to apologize for wrongdoing. We should stand firm in what we did and try to challenge everybody else not to do that kind of thing anymore,” she said. “We got to make sure that the gay community is no longer the butt of the joke…I don’t think he understood the ramifications of what he said.”

Waithe added that she doesn’t know how the Oscars hosting controversy is going to shake out, but she would like to see a gay, black woman host. When a Variety host tossed her name into the hat, Waithe countered that she wasn’t ready, but believed Wanda Sykes would make a great fit. 

Golden Globe hosts Andy Samberg and Sandra Oh touched on the issue before playfully veering toward controversial jokes of their own.

“We are going to have some fun, give out some awards, and one lucky audience member will host the Oscars!” Samberg said at the start of the show, pointing toward the big night’s vacancy. 

“Now, some of you may be wondering why the two of us are hosting together,” Oh began, leading Samberg to chime in with, “The reason is we are the only two people left in Hollywood who haven’t gotten in trouble for saying something offensive.”

Samberg then walked up to a pseudo-controversy of his own, starting off a joke with “You know what race of people really get under my skin?” before answering “The Hollywood half marathon, because it messes up all the traffic.”