Funnyman Kevin Hart is known for his upbeat and comedic antics and, as many know, Hart has some great movies under his belt. But that hasn’t stopped the stand-up superstar from courting his fair share of controversy. From stepping down as Oscar host due to social media posts deemed homophobic to a very public cheating scandal, the Jumanji star has seen his fair share of public media storms. Well, it would seem the superstar is dealing with backlash yet again, after his planned Egyptian comedy shows were canceled, allegedly due to some comments he made back in 2022.
The Ride Along actor was scheduled to perform in Nasr City at the Cairo International Stadium on Feb. 21 during his “Reality Check” comedy tour. Fans were shocked to find out the show was canceled, just a day before the planned event. According to the Atlanta Black Star, there seems to be some dispute over the show's cancelation. The Egypt Independent reports that the comedian’s show was canceled due to “local logistical issues.” Yet Al-Monitor claims the performance was canned due to comments Kevin Hart shared last December, when he allegedly said ancient Egyptians were Black:
It is with a heavy heart that we share with you, due to local logistical issues, the cancellation of our Kevin Hart event scheduled for Feb. 21 in Cairo. You have always shown us continuous support in all our events and for that, we’re grateful. In the meantime, we are asking for your patience as we work with the TicketsMarché team to make sure that all the refunds are met in the shortest time possible.
Many were not buying the agency’s reasoning for the show’s cancelation and began calling them out in the comments. One fan wrote that they believe it had everything to do with the A-lister's suppose support of the “afrocentric movement”. The person commented on the agency’s post:
It was canceled cause kevin hart supports the Afrocentric movement and NOT for logistic issues. Egypt hosts hundreds of events every year. We just hosted Dior at the pyramids & a concert at hatshepsut temple so am sure they can handle a comedy show!
Another fan went as far as saying the country of Egypt was guilty of whitewashing history. They wrote:
They canceled the show because he telling the truth! The ancient Egyptians are not the Egyptians of today, everything has been whitewashed and the current Egyptians are not the originals!
It was reported in December that Kevin Hart had allegedly said, “We must teach our children the true history of Black Africans when they were kings in Egypt and not just the era of slavery that is cemented by education in America. Do you remember the time when we were kings?” It was never confirmed whether the star even made the remarks. Still, it didn't stop the story from spreading across social media, resulting in many Egyptians trying to initiate a boycott of the high-profile comedian.
It should be noted that whether or not ancient Egyptians were Black has long been debated by historians. Senegalese historian Cheikh Anta Diop first suggested the theory. According to Egyptologist Stuart Tyson Smith, who wrote in the book The Egyptian World, that ancient Egypt had multiple ethnic groups, including dark-skinned Nubians and lighter-skinned Libyans and Egyptians.
The Think Like a Man breakout spoke at length in 2021 on “being canceled” and revealed his feelings about cancel culture, giving a nuanced take on the subject. He said we live in a time where everyone expects perfection, and no one is perfect. The star added that if someone had done something “truly damaging," they deserve consequences, but the current climate feels like more is happening. He said:
If somebody has done something truly damaging then, absolutely, a consequence should be attached. But when you just talk about… nonsense? When you’re talking, ‘Someone said! They need to be taken [down]!’ Shut the fuck up! What are you talking about?
Kevin Hart is just one of many celebrities who have shared “cancel culture” takes that might surprise you. Singer Lizzo seemingly needed no reason to speak her mind early this year when she took to Twitter to share why she thinks the practice has become “misused and misdirected.” Her full statement:
This may be a random time to say this but it’s on my heart... cancel culture is appropriation. There was real outrage from truly marginalized people and now it’s become trendy, misused and misdirected. I hope we can phase out of this & focus our outrage on the real problems.
No matter where you stand on the “cancel culture” debate, one thing is for sure; the cancelation hasn’t stopped Kevin Hart from pressing forward. The Fatherhood star hasn’t commented on the recent show cancelation, but he announced on Feb. 21 that he would continue his “Reality Check” comedy tour.
You can also see Kevin Hart on the big screen in Lift, which drops on August 25th as part of the schedule of 2023 new movie releases.
