And the Point Is? Responses to Ellen's Defense of Kevin Hart

It is curious that of all the issues facing LGBTQ people, Ellen Degeneres chose that absolving Kevin Hart of his homophobic tweets in order to return him to hosting the Oscars is of such importance that she devoted a segment of her talk show to it. On Friday the talk show star had Hart on her show in a plea to the Academy to reinstate him. He was still angry, explaining how he his dream to "make the Oscars fun" was sidetracked by an angry mob out to get him.

For her part, Ellen used the moment to explain how she petitioned the Oscars to reinstate Hart and the Academy responded that they would consider it. Promising that he brings "sophistication, class, hilarity" to the ceremony, she said that his appearance would be a response to Internet trolls. "There are so many haters out there. Whatever is going on in the Internet, Don't pay attention to them. That's a small group of people being very, very loud. We are a huge group of people who love you and want to see you host the Oscars."

Hart said in his defense: "On my side ultimately, I say I am wrong for my past words. I say it. I understand that. I know that. My kids know when their dad messes up I am in front of it because I want to be an example so they know what to do. In this case it is tough for me because it was an attack. This wasn't an accident. This wasn't a coincidence. It wasn't a coincidence that on the day after I received the job that tweets somehow manifested from 2008... I am on social media every day I have over 40,000 tweets. To go through 40,000 tweets to go back to 2008, that's an attack. That's a malicious attack on my character... This was to destroy me... It is bigger than just the Oscars, it is about the individuals who are out there now who are finding success in damage. They are finding success in damaging the quote-unquote celebrity... Someone has to take a stand against the quote-unquote trolls. You have to."

"Yes, but they're going to win if you don't host the Oscars. Then they win," responded Ellen.

Who knew there was a silent majority out there just waiting for the opportunity to reinstate Hart to the Oscars? Degeneres thinks she knows and is using her celebrity to make it happen, contacting the Academy to pitch Hart's case weeks after the controversy appeared to have put to rest. That they seemed open to it only made her plea a piece of kabuki theater that set Hart up as a victim. Was she sending a feeler out there to see how it would fly over the weekend? The Oscars still haven't a host, but perhaps they will have their original choice back on Monday if Ellen's defense of Hart finds a favorable response.

For his part, Hart seemed reluctant to come back,
The LGBTQ media advocacy responded tersely: "From when this news first broke, GLAAD said Kevin Hart should not step down from the Oscars, he should step up and send an unequivocal message of acceptance to LGBTQ youth that matches the force and impact of his initial anti-LGBTQ remarks," said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

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Comedian Rob Schneider put it this way:

But over at CNN, Don Lemon was far less supportive, noting that "while Hart has addressed his homophobic jokes in the past, there is no record of him apologizing for them until the apology he issued following his recent exit from his gig as Oscar host in light of the backlash over the decade-old remarks."

He proceeded to play some of Hart's jokes, including one in which the comic promised to break a dollhouse over his son's head because he was "playing gay."

"That was a joke to Kevin, The truth is, that is a reality for many little boys in the United States ... somewhere a black dad is beating his black son," Lemon said, referencing a story about his friend and Hollywood creator Lee Daniels. In his series "Empire," Daniels scripted a real-life moment when his own father threw him into a garbage can as a little boy for wearing a pair of high heels."

"'For many in the gay community, especially in the black community, the Twitter apologies on 'Ellen' have fallen flat,' Lemon continued, noting reactions calling the talk show moment 'insincere' and that Hart 'somehow turns himself into a victim instead of acknowledging the real victims of violent and sometimes deadly homophobia.'"

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Watch Kevin Hart on the Ellen Show: