'Weekend Update' anchor Michael Che addressed Hart's recent scandal that cost the comedian his Oscars hosting gig.
Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" anchor Michael Che addressed the recent controversy surrounding Kevin Hart over the weekend, and called out the Academy Awards for their apparent hypocrisy.
"Well, that was short," Che joked as a photo of Hart came up as a graphic.
"Kevin Hart had to step down as host of the upcoming Academy Awards because of homophobic tweets from 2011," Che continued, referring to the scandal that led to Hart recusing himself from the gig on Thursday evening.
"But didn't the Academy nominate Mel Gibson for an award just last year?" Che added, correctly referring to Gibson's Best Director nomination for Hacksaw Ridge in 2017.
Che -- who recently hosted this year's Emmys alongside fellow "Weekend Update" anchor Colin Jost -- also suggested that "if Kevin Hart isn't clean enough to host the Oscars then no Black comic is."
"The only Black comic I know that's cleaner than Kevin Hart is booked for the next three to 10 years," Che continued, as a photo of disgraced comedian Bill Cosby appeared on screen.
Hours after Hart confirmed that he'd been tapped to host the 91st Academy Awards on Tuesday evening, a number of offensive remarks tweeted by Hart between 2009 and 2011 -- many of which include anti-gay slurs and homophobic insults -- began circulating online, and some of those offended by his tweets started the movement calling for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to rescind their hosting offer.
The 39-year-old actor first broke his silence on the controversy Thursday afternoon in a video explaining that he's a different person now than he was, and adding that he's "in a great place [in his life]. A great mature place, where all I do is spread positivity."
A few hours later, the comic posted another video in which he defiantly said he would not apologize, despite the Academy demanding he do so, claiming that he'd "addressed this several times" over the years and didn't feel he needed to do so again.
Less than two hours later, Hart announced that he'd decided to step down from hosting the Oscars, and extended a full apology to the LGBTQ community.
A source close to the comedian told ET on Friday that Hart feels "disappointed" and "hurt" that he won't be hosting the Oscars but he will move forward from this and ultimately be "good."
Check out the video below to hear more.
Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
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