DeGeneres shared that she called the Academy to convince them to rehire Hart as the Oscars host, and he said he'll consider it.

People Are So Not Here for Ellen’s Defense of Kevin Hart

Kevin Hart continued his damage control efforts with an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where it was revealed that she encouraged the Academy to rehire him after he lost the Oscars hosting job over homophobic jokes and tweets from his past.

Hart was reluctant to offer a full-throated apology at first, citing earlier apologies as sufficient. That disagreement on how to handle the controversy resulted in his stepping down from the gig, despite it being a goal on his vision board.

DeGeneres encouraged him to reconsider, claiming the Academy is ready to have him back. He said he would consider it.

However you feel about this, the only positive way through it is to talk about it. Thank you for being here, @KevinHart4real. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/FVKZ6FIQAx — Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) January 4, 2019

While Hart clearly appreciated the support from his pal Ellen, there are plenty who were less than pleased, seeing her actions as something of a betrayal to the LGBTQ community. Many are unhappy that she chose to characterize those who brought up concerns at Hart’s hiring as simply “haters,” letting him off the hook for true self-reflection.

Ellen giving homophobes the ability to say “but Ellen said it’s okay” is a massive fucking betrayal. I don’t care how many sitcoms you lost in the 90s. — Happy Houlidays (@RyanHoulihan) January 4, 2019

I feel like if you’re not homophobic anymore, you shouldn’t mind apologizing for your past homophobia again and again and again. I don’t want to hear a hostile retelling of how we didn’t hear your meager apology the first time. — Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) January 4, 2019

Ellen’s show is basically the embodiment of respectability politics, so using it as a platform to absolve Kevin Hart on our behalf sounds pretty much on brand. Her sitcom allowed her to do something radical, which she suffered for, & she’s been running away from that ever since. — Laurence "Laura Dern" Barber (@bortlb) January 4, 2019

The only thing @KevinHart4real proved by going on Ellen was that he is a terrible actor with zero genuine remorse who didn’t have the decency to address his ignorance. No, they weren’t “haters” who came after you. It was the LGBTQI+ community because we’re sick to shit of it. — Harry Cook (@HarryCook) January 4, 2019

(1) First, the people who brought up Kevin Hart's past tweets — like me — were not, as Ellen characterized, "haters." The host of the Oscars had made anti-gay jokes, and LGBT people who love the Oscars were legitimately startled to see just how harsh his words were. It wasn't a… — Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 4, 2019

(2) …mob of people out to get Kevin Hart. It was a group of people who wanted to understand Hart's thinking about those hurtful tweets & his stand-up jokes. Second, in his Ellen interview, Hart referenced apologizing for his past during the GET HARD junket. Well… — Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 4, 2019

(3) …when @louisvirtel asked Hart about the vaguely homophobic jokes in GET HARD, like Hart affecting an effeminate voice to evoke fear of prison rape, Hart's response was, "Funny is funny." That may be a legit perspective; it isn't an apology. https://t.co/z92Bslbdhr — Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 4, 2019

(4) Third, Hart argued that the fact that his old tweets were found so quickly is evidence of a malicious attack to destroy him personally, b/c people had to go through over 40k tweets to get back to his old ones from 2010 and 2011 (rather than 2008, as he kept saying). Well… — Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 4, 2019

(5) …Hart may not be aware, but Twitter has a search function that allows anyone to search anyone else's history. So if you're curious if a standup comic hired to host the Oscars had used homophobic language in the past, it takes 10 seconds to find out. https://t.co/FQS89q3o6e — Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 4, 2019

(6) Finally, it's depressing that Ellen's enthusiasm for Hart hosting the Oscars — and he would've been a good host! — led her to contribute to a narrative that Hart is the victim of "haters" & "trolls" out to "destroy" him, & if he doesn't host the Oscars, they'll "win." Well… — Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 4, 2019

(7) …if @TheAcademy wants to hire Hart back after he made the simple act of apologizing for hurtful, harmful, anti-gay language into a vicious conspiracy to ruin his entire life, I'm not sure who "wins" in that scenario, either. (END) — Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) January 4, 2019

I also believe in forgiveness. But I also believe that forgiveness requires an actual apology. Not “I’m sorry people are so sensitive.” Just “I am sorry.” All he had to do. And he indignantly refused because he felt his moment was being tainted. That he was the aggrieved. — Eamon Paton-Usry (@Eamon2Please) January 4, 2019

this whole ellen/kevin hart thing is a perfect example of how privilege and constant praise distorts a person’s reality so much that they perceive any criticism, however valid, to be an attack on their entire livelihood — ellie (@eleanorbate) January 4, 2019

I expected Ellen to actually ask Kevin Hart some sort of challenging question. Anything, really. But instead, it was just one long monologue from Kevin interspersed with Ellen’s approval. That interview made me miss the previous talk show hosts that asked tough questions. — deray (@deray) January 4, 2019

Homophobic man yells at everyone for calling him homophobic. Ellen: How courageous! Apology accepted. — sam greisman (@SAMGREIS) January 4, 2019