Popular Atlanta drag queen and radio personality Miss Sophia defended Kevin Hart as the comedian and actor faces a firestorm of controversy over past homophobic tweets and his selection as Oscars host.
“I have shared a space with Kevin Hart several times and each time he has treated me with the utmost respect, in drag and out of drag,” Miss Sophia (top photo) wrote in an Instagram post early Friday. “I’ve been in this business long enough to know when someone genuinely respects you or they just tolerate you. Kevin Hart respects us.”
Miss Sophia is a cast member of V103’s “Frank & Wanda In The Morning” and performs in LGBTQ venues, including headlining “Komedy & Karaoke” on Wednesdays at Mixx.
The defense of Hart came as he was embroiled in controversy. When he was named as Oscars host earlier this week, several homophobic and anti-LGBTQ tweets he wrote between 2009 and 2011 resurfaced, according to Buzzfeed.
“Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay,’” read a 2011 tweet that Hart deleted sometime on Wednesday or Thursday.
Hart also deleted tweets in which he said someone looked like “a gay billboard for AIDS” and in which he called someone a “fat fag.”
Hart also expressed his fears of having a gay child during a 2010 standup special.
“One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear. Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will,” Hart said,
Hart was defiant on Thursday morning and said in two videos posted to Instagram that he already apologized for the comments and had moved on.
In one video, he said the Oscars team asked him to apologize or be dropped as host. Hart refused.
“I’m not going to continue to go back and tap into the days of old when I’ve moved on and I’m in a completely different space in my life,” he said.
“We feed internet trolls and we reward them. I’m not going to do it, man. I’m going to be me. I’m going to stand my ground,” he added.
Late Thursday, Hart reversed course, apologized on Twitter and said he was stepping down from the hosting gig.
I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.
— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) December 7, 2018
Miss Sophia called Hart stepping down as Oscars host “sad.”
“Every now and again I will clap back on people who leave negative comments on my post, like I did yesterday, the majority of the times I ignore them, these are the people that we are at war with, the ones who are practicing hate on a daily basis, someone like Kevin Hart deserves our forgiveness, just like we would want to be forgiven for the things that we did back in the day when we didn’t know any better,” she wrote.
“Yes people should be held accountable for there [sic] actions, but when we see them on a different path with a track record that shows that they are changed individuals for the better, we should embrace them, not try to destroy them or there [sic] career. Kevin was just in the studio with us earlier this year and he’s not faking it,” she added.
Photo via Facebook
