Comedian and actor Kevin Hart unloaded on Twitter Thursday, after one of his followers accused him and fellow actor Marlon Wayans of making “stereotypical” black movies.
Hart, who stars in new release Ride Along 2, responded to Twitter user TaShyon Laneigh, who asked, “When are black celebs like @KevinHart4real and @MarlonWayans gonna stop doing stereotypical movies?”
Laneigh also cited the film Get Hard, which Hart co-starred in with comedian Will Ferrell, as an example his films are full of “racist, homophobic and sexist jokes.”
“When are black people going to stop being so hard on their own kind,” Hart said, “We can’t do better until we support each other.”
Hart, who is reportedly in Europe promoting Ride Along 2, added: “I make movies for everyone, I’m actually overseas promoting my movie on an international level.”
The heated Twitter exchange comes amid the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, which was renewed two weeks ago after the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced that for a second consecutive year, all of the acting nominees are white.
While some Academy critics, including boycotters Will and Jada Pinkett Smith and Oscar-winning director Spike Lee, have accused the Oscars of intentionally snubbing black performers, others have asserted that there were simply no Oscars-worthy performances by black actors this year.
Oscar-nominated screen legend Charlotte Rampling said last Friday, “One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list.”
Two-time Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine also said, “you can’t vote for an actor because he’s black.”
In response to the controversy, the Academy announced a series of extensive measures to update its voting rules and organizational structure last Friday. The measures will remove voting privileges from many older Academy members and aggressively recruit new voting members “who represent greater diversity.”
Wayans, whose comedy Fifty Shades of Black was released on Friday, has not respond to Laneigh.