In a new interview with Deadline, the 41-year-old actor and comedian explained why he defended both stars after they each came under fire.
“Well, I don’t lose sight of the definition of friendship, and in our business, it’s one thing that people don’t really hold on to,” Hart began. “There’s a lot of relationships that are fake, and there’s some that are real. In my case, the ones that are real are the ones that I’m always going to be adamant about speaking on behalf of. I know the people that both of them are, and knowing the people, all I can say is my experiences with those people. That’s not to take away from what other people are saying that they have had, and that they have done. It’s just to highlight what I’m saying I know, and what I can speak on behalf of.”
Hart, who received his own backlash and stepped down from hosting the 2019 Oscars after homophobic tweets from his past resurfaced, said he knows “how dark it gets” in times like this.
“I know how lonely it gets, because I know that these are times when people just turn their back on you,” the Night School star, who received support from DeGeneres and Cannon after his offensive tweets came to light, continued. “So for the ones that you love, that are close to your heart, you just want them to have some support, when it seems that there is none out there, and that’s just who I am as a person.”
He also told Deadline this “goes for anybody, across the board,” that he considers a friend, noting “that’s not a big group of people.”
“Everybody doesn’t get that conversation and that feeling from me, but the ones that do, I’m serious about it,” he concluded. “I’m true to it, and it doesn’t mean that you have to speak on behalf of the problem. It doesn’t mean that you have to disregard the things that others are saying. It means that I can just speak on my relationship with my friends. When it comes to Nick, and it comes Ellen, I know who they are, and I know who they’ve been for the years that I’ve been around them, and I can only speak to that. Those are two of the most amazing people that I know.”
Hart’s comments came one month after allegations of a “toxic” work environment at The Ellen DeGeneres Show made headlines. In July, BuzzFeed News published a report in which one current and 10 former employees came forward anonymously with accusations about the treatment of the show’s staff. While no claims were made against DeGeneres specifically, the 62-year-old host addressed the allegations and issued an apology in a letter to her staff. An internal investigation was also launched and Warner Bros. stated that WarnerMedia interviewed “dozens of current and former employees about the environment at The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show is, and has always strived to be, a place that brings positivity to the world,” part of the company’s statement read. “And though not all of the allegations were corroborated, we are disappointed that the primary findings of the investigation indicated some deficiencies related to the show’s day-to-day management. We have identified several staffing changes, along with appropriate measures to address the issues that have been raised and are taking the first steps to implement them. Warner Bros. and Ellen DeGeneres are all committed to ensuring a workplace based on respect and inclusion. We are confident this course of action will lead us to the right way forward for the show.”
Later that month, BuzzFeed News published a separate report in which “dozens” of former employees accused executive producers of sexual misconduct or harassment. E! News did not name these producers. One of the producers denied “any kind of sexual impropriety,” and another is “100 percent categorically denying these allegations.” A third producer did not respond to comment
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