Kevin Hart Admits He ‘F***ed Up’ That Oscars Apology

When Hart got a call from the Academy urging him to apologize for his past comments, the comedian took to Instagram and did exactly the opposite, saying: Ive addressed it. Ive spoken on it Ive done it. He wasnt going to indulge the criticism.

And fans weren't happy about it.

Im a firm believer in laying in the bed that you made, Hart told Peter Flax in the Mens Health March cover story . "If there's something that you did, then you did it. You know, there's no wiggle room around it. You can address it, and then you can move on."

Hart has since recognized that he should have handled the Oscars controversy differently. With the whole Oscars thing, there was a big gap between what I thought the problem was versus what the problem really was, he says. He thought the problem was people calling him homophobic, which he felt he wasn't. "I got ten years where I made sure not to joke or play in the way that I did back then because it was a problem," he says. "I don't care if you're gay or not gay. I'm a people person. I'm going to love you regardless."

Now, Hart understands the problem was deeper than his having to continually apologize; it had to do with what Hart could have said to address violence and homophobia. It wasnt until close friends like Wanda Sykes, Lee Daniels, and Ellen [DeGeneres] talked to me and explained what they didnt hear me say that I understood," he says. "Then I was like, Oh, shitI did fuck up.

Still, Hart stands by his forward-looking attitude. His mindset concerns overcoming and not dwelling. People attach failure or an ending to a problem, Hart told us. Well, problems are made to be solved. Maybe if people see how Ive gone through some of my hardships, theyll find some motivation or inspiration.