Friendship over everything. At least that’s the case for Kevin Hart, despite his pals’ controversies!
As we’ve previously shared, the Philadelphia native has been one of Ellen DeGeneres‘ most vocal supporters as of late, even grabbing lunch with her over the weekend following a consistent stream of new information regarding the “toxic” on-set behavior at her daytime show, which many former staffers say she was complicit of.
But the comedienne’s not the only one he’s sticking his neck out for! After Nick Cannon received backlash for anti-Semitic comments made on an episode of his Cannon’s Class YouTube show, Hart was one of many who stuck up for him, and now he’s ready to share why.
Related: Inside Ellen’s Apology To Staff After The Ousting Of Three Executive Producers
The Jumanji star explained (below) to Deadline in a new interview published on Tuesday:
“I don’t lose sight of the definition of friendship, and in our business, it’s one thing that people don’t really hold on to. There’s a lot of relationships that are fake, and there’s some that are real. In my case, the ones that are real are the ones that I’m always going to be adamant about speaking on behalf of. I know the people that both of them are, and knowing the people, all I can say is my experiences with those people.”
The 41-year-old seemingly acknowledged the massive outcry which has come out of both situations, adding that his support is “not to take away from what other people are saying that they have had, and that they have done. It’s just to highlight what I’m saying I know, and what I can speak on behalf of.”
He continued:
“In times like this, I know also how dark it gets. I know how lonely it gets, because I know that these are times when people just turn their back on you. So for the ones that you love, that are close to your heart, you just want them to have some support, when it seems that there is none out there, and that’s just who I am as a person.”
Hart expressed the same sentiment again: he will stick with his friends based on his personal experience, not on the experience of others, seemingly regardless of what they’ve been accused of:
“That goes for anybody, across the board, that I consider a friend, and that’s not a big group of people. Everybody doesn’t get that conversation and that feeling from me, but the ones that do, I’m serious about it. I’m true to it, and it doesn’t mean that you have to speak on behalf of the problem. It doesn’t mean that you have to disregard the things that others are saying. It means that I can just speak on my relationship with my friends.”
As you may remember, Kevin has had his fair share of controversy after his past hurtful remarks about the LGBT community again came to light last year ahead of his later canceled Oscars gig. Amid the scandal, Ellen stepped up to have her fellow comedian on the show, where he explained his reaction to the backlash.
He concluded:
“When it comes to Nick, and it comes Ellen, I know who they are, and I know who they’ve been for the years that I’ve been around them, and I can only speak to that. Those are two of the most amazing people that I know.”
What do U think of Hart’s reasoning behind his firm stance, y’all?! Let us know (below) in the comments.
[Image via WENN/Avalon & FayesVision/Johnny Louis/WENN.]
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