Don Lemon Makes Emotional Plea for Kevin Hart to ‘Do the Right Thing’: ‘It’s Life or Death’
CNN’s Don Lemon addressed the current controversy surrounding Kevin Hart’s past homophobic comments and the ongoing drama of hosting this year’s Academy Awards. As a proud member of both the black and LGBT communities, Lemon spoke gave a candid and, at times, emotional perspective on the plight of Black LGBT and transgendered kids — before asking Hart to become an ally to those at-risk communities.
Some background: Hart was named as host of the ABC’s Oscar Ceremony a month ago, but stepped down shortly after when past homophobic jokes were unearthed from his Twitter feed. On Thursday, the comedian addressed the controversy with Ellen DeGeneres (whose show is also syndicated by ABC) in what seemed an apparent attempt to return to the hosting gig. DeGeneres, a gay entertainment pioneer in her own right, notably forgave Hart for his past misgivings.
But many in the gay community were still not okay with Hart’s past discretions, and Ellen’s forgiveness meant little to that set. Consider Mr. Lemon in that group as he noted that Mr. Hart never actually apologized for his past homophobic jokes which mocked the relationship between parent and potential gay child.
Lemon noted that an abnormally large majority of homeless children are black LGBT and transgendered kids, saying that home life for these kids is very different in black communities. He then resolved with a plea for Kevin Hart to “be an ally” to these communities and put it in the starkest terms possible, saying “it’s life or death.”
Watch above via CNN.
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