Kevin Hart Addresses Cancel Culture: 'When Did We Get to a Point Where Life Was Supposed to Be Perfect?'

Kevin Hart is no stranger to cancel culture and its impact on comedians. So during a recent interview with The Sunday Times, Hart attempted to put the concept in perspective while stressing that no one is absolved from criticism. 

“When did we get to a point where life was supposed to be perfect?” Hart asked per Yahoo!. “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. Because, last I checked, the only way you grow up is from fucking up. I don’t know a kid who hasn’t fucked up or done some dumb shit.”

Hart knows firsthand how detrimental the cancel concept can be to one’s career. In 2019, Hart missed out on an opportunity to host the Oscars because of a homophobic joke he made early in his stand-up career. As a result of this, the comedian has learned to ignore the noise. 

“I’ve been canceled, what, three or four times? Never bothered. If you allow it to have an effect on you, it will. Personally?” Hart said. “That’s not how I operate.”

Although he clearly doesn’t agree with its application, he does understand the need to police people with platforms. He goes on to tell The Sunday Times that people who have done “something truly damaging” should face any acceptable form of punishment but opposing ideas shouldn’t suffer the same fate. 

“If somebody has done something truly damaging then, absolutely, a consequence should be attached,” he explained. “But when you just talk about… nonsense? When you’re talking, ‘Someone said! They need to be taken [down]!’ Shut the fuck up! What are you talking about?”

Hart’s opinion on cancel culture is slightly different from Katt William’s. During a conversation with the Joe Budden Podcast, Williams explained that cancel culture is just a new set of rules that comedians have to play by to keep their audiences happy. And as an entertainer, it should be their goal to make their viewers smile.

“Nobody likes the out of bounds, but the out of bounds gotta be there or you’ll run up in the stands,” Katt said. “Some of these things are for the benefit of everything. Nobody likes the speed limit but it’s necessary. Nobody likes the shoulder of the road but it’s there for a reason. My point is, people weren’t all that extremely funny when they could say whatever they wanted to say.”