In August of 2017, days after Donald Trump defended white nationalist protestors in Charlottesville, Kevin Hart maintained in an interview with The Daily Beast that he would avoid making jokes about the president.

“The way that I see it, my job as a comedian is to spread positivity. To make people laugh," he said. "And I don’t want to draw attention to what’s already pissing us as a people off.”



Throughout the election and Donald Trump's early presidency, Hart never veered into politics, as comedians across the country used their platform to talk shit about the struggling administration.

“When you jump into that political realm you’re alienating some of your audience,” he told Variety in early 2017. “The world today, it’s really not a laughing matter. It’s serious. I don’t want to draw attention to things I don’t have nice things to say about.”



In an interview with USA Today in June, Kathy Griffin even called Hart a "pussy" for ignoring politics in his stand up routine.

But, after years of avoiding Trump, Hart used his moment on stage at the VMAs on Monday to finally say something political. He compared the live award show to a sporting event.

"But at this game, you guys can kneel. You can do whatever the hell you want. There's no old white man that can stop you," Hart said. "You never know what's going to happen at the VMAs. I mean beefs pop off, bad language, people sending out crazy tweets. It's basically like your typical day at the White House. In your face, Trump—suck it!"

It's a surprising time and place for Hart to finally take a stand, especially after he'd become popular among conservatives who took his silence as support for the president. Compared to the jokes about everyone else in the room, however, it was pretty mild.

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Matt Miller Culture Editor Matt is the Culture Editor at Esquire where he covers music, movies, books, and TV—with an emphasis on all things Star Wars, Marvel, and Game of Thrones.

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