Pose actress Indya Moore tore into D.L. Hughley on Friday after he defended the string of homophobic tweets uncovered from comedian Kevin Hart’s Twitter profile.
It all started when Hughley stood up for Hart on Twitter last week:
A Comedian says something that offends people and refuses to apologize? What do I say?…..Fuck em if they can’t take a joke! Well done #KevinHart #TeamDl
— DL Hughley (@RealDLHughley) December 7, 2018
He followed that up with a video posted to Instagram commending Hart’s non-apology for the 40+ old homophobic tweets, which included gay jokes, AIDS jokes, and lots and lots of antigay slurs.
“So let me get this straight,” Hughley said in the video, “a comedian tells a joke that offends people and refuses to apologize, and people want to know what I think of that.”
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“F*ck ’em, if they can’t take a joke. Well played, Kevin Hart, that is how it’s done!”
And that’s when Moore, who is a trans woman, got involved.
After seeing Hughley’s video, she called the 55-year-old comedian out of Twitter, tweeting: “You can’t balance or evaluate the ethics of an issue you aren’t impacted by.”
White people standing up for racism in comedy. @RealDLHughley. But you can't see that because gay jokes are so popular and normalized. you can't balance or evaluate the ethics of an issue you aren't impacted by or really care brother just stop… You bias! https://t.co/2isgLxBcn9
— IAM (@IndyaMoore) December 7, 2018
Hughley quickly replied: “I think jokes are jokes and no one is above them nothing more nothing less … I could give less than a damn what you think if u don’t dig it don’t listen! But I’d never apologize for a joke.”
To which Moore responded: “I know you don’t care! That’s what the issue is. … Why you have to act like there ain’t other ways to make people smile…Comedy is a excruciatingly poor justification for being a biggot. No matter if it made a thousand ppl laugh. Those two people in the middle of the croud who came to laugh to and left feeling hurt matter, and yalls failure to acknowledge or see that is the issue here not your job.”
Related: People are feeling all kinds of ways about Kevin Hart stepping down from the Oscars
She continued: “There are consequences for the things you say no matter who it makes laugh. So since you don’t give a damn don’t act surprised & defensive when people who do give a damn oppose you … Start buying up stocks buddy cus my generation ain’t having it…your jokes divide people and that’s why you fail as a comedian. By all means don’t apologize, you can be all the clown you want but you will never lead with bullshit.”
That’s when Hughley, clearly fed up, tweeted:
Fail!! Lol!!!! I make a living doing what love, put kids through college, paid for my homes, and travel the world, and still don’t give a shit what a pussy like u thinks
— DL Hughley (@RealDLHughley) December 7, 2018
D.L., if you’re reading up, bringing up genitals when engaged in hostile conversation with a trans person is never a winning move.
That’s when Moore said “Thank u, next” and stopped engaging, tweeting:
unpacking the subtext of 55 year old @RealDLHughley calling me, a 23 year old black trans woman with a life expectancy of 35 a pussy on twitter for standing up to him in account of his complacency of comedic bigotry and how that impacts peoples is excruciating laborsome.
— IAM (@IndyaMoore) December 8, 2018
She followed that up with another tweet over the weekend, writing: “P*ssy’s are warm, have depth and are strong enough to take a beating. But balls don’t do anything but hang outside and shrivel up when it gets cold. P*ssy is absolutely complimentary to who I am.”
MarathonBoy
Kevin Hart’s jokes were about gay people, not trans people. So why is this transgender pretending to speak on our behalf?
GetOffMyInternets
@MarathonBoy In reality she’s defending us all. And please don’t forget it was trans women and drag Queens that started the riots at Stonewall, when the buttoned up shirted gay boys in the Mattachine Society hadn’t accomplished anything and did nothing that night. We owe our revolution to trans people, so quit being divisive. She’s taking him to task for the community, your comment simply catgerorizes as if she should know her place and only speak for trans people.
goosey19
Firstly don’t call her a transgender. She’s a trans women.
Do you know what the T stands for in LGBT? You can be a bigot on your own time, but like it or not she is a part of our lgbT community. She’s supporting and defending all of us. How dare you pretend to care about LGBT issues when you’re a transphobe?
spacecadet
@Marathonboy – I’m gay and even if you are, you clearly don’t speak on my behalf.
And you’re an idiot. By your logic, if Jews are being shipped off to concentration camps and I’m not Jewish then I have no business speaking on their behalf.
SactoMan
@GetOffMyInternets I know this is the current popular social justice interpretation of Stonewall. But really, there were no gay men there rioting? At all? Somebody call RuPaul! They aren’t men!
GetOffMyInternets
@sactoman Actually no. This is from the years of research not only from what I’ve done but with discussion I myself have had with (for example) Warhol trans actress Holly Woodlawn in 1997 (she was there that night) and with Sylvia Oliver herself. It’s not a “social justice” vision in any way whatsoever when you’ve spoken with many people and researched what happened that night.
Nice try.
GetOffMyInternets
Excuse me, Sylvia RIVERA.
Hdtex
Were you born this stupid or is it a result of some tragic accident?
antok28
You are absolutely right
Xzamilloh
Comedy is about pushing the line between what is acceptable to joke about and what isn’t, and a joke that offends is basically a joke that doesn’t work. Kevin Hart shouldn’t apologize if he isn’t sorry, and no one should be demanding an apology they aren’t going to accept.
The Oscars hasn’t even aired and it’s already downhill
And this article isn’t fair There is no indication DL knew she was trans and non-comedians don’t get to tell pros how they should do humor
Xzamilloh
Or as Patrice Oneal put it: When telling a joke, 50% of the room should be laughing and the other 50% should be horrified.
tjack47
My opinion may be unpopular, but what happened to Kevin Hart is one of many social media crucifixions. He’d already addressed it in the past. People do grow and evolve. How many pounds of flesh must we have? This isn’t only about past jokes, it’s about race too. Ms. Moore is intelligent and beautiful, eloquent. I simply disagree with her. D. L. Hughley can be mean. I remember his joke about Caitlynn Jenner, something like she looked like His 7th grade PE teacher. Still, I have a broad sense, spectrum of humor. I grew up with Bruce, Carlin and Pryor. Hart’s “jokes” were tame.
unreligious
Yes everyone bleats on about how he addressed this in the past and how he’s evolved. But then why was he deleting the old tweets as soon as he was giving the gig? If he had really evolved and addressed it he would have deleted them years ago. He know it would reflect badly on him and was trying to cover his ass.
Tony1129
Agreed.
PinkoOfTheGange
If Heart wanted the gig the price was a simple: rehashing of the multiple times he has non-apologized for the multiple uses, many in non-joke ways of, f——-t as a pejorative, and wrap it is a sincere real apology. It is part of the price of fame at this time and has nothing to do with race, any one else would have to do the same.
batesmotel
I agree. I thought it was lame to push him out or that he quit. He hasn’t made any anti-gay related comments or comedy in years. Clearly he’s over his anti-gay period.
CanadianGuy62
Goosey19…what is your point about the T in LGBT? The T stands for Transgender, so MarathonBoy’s usage of the word was correct (politically and otherwise).
People are FAR too sensitive.
goosey19
Ugh. Yes it stands for Transgender. Last time I checked, trans people don’t particularly like being called ‘transgenders.’ They prefer transman/woman etc.
My point, if you read marathonboy’s condescending comment, is that Trans people are a part of the LGBT community and aren’t “pretending” to support us, aka other members of the same damn community
SactoMan
GLAAD says to be careful using the term “trans” because people don’t know what it really means. It could be used to signify “transsexual” which, of course, is a big no no. And if you go a google search, the consensus seems to be to use “transgender”. In your particular world, people may prefer transman/transwoman but somebody needs to put the memo out. Not fair to call somebody on that.
PoetDaddy
Hughley might not have known that Indya Moore was a trans woman, but he knows what a bigot is. I’m sure he can pick one out of any crowd… unless the bigot happens to be HIM or a friend. I can’t even imagine the reaction Hughley would have if someone used the kind of language and the terms Kevin Hart used about gay people if African-Americans were the butt of the “jokes.” So Hughley is now on my no-fly list along with Hart and anyone else who uses the word f****t. Calling someone a “pussy” by the way has all the class of Donald Trump, which is to say none at all.
Rock-N-RollHS
Jokes can offend, and people should be informed that they have offended, but tired of people giving the words of strangers far more power then they have. If Kevin Hart was my father I’d be a lot more harmed than I am as a gay stranger. To me, he’s just a dick. Next.
thisisnotreal
Graham buddy, I’m sure u meant this article as a means of pointing out bigotry and defending a fellow lgbt member, but you got one point in this article very wrong. Calling someone a pussy nowadays does NOT have roots in anything related to female genitalia. When someone calls someone else that word they are not referring to them as a slang term for a vagina. the origins of the word pussy as it is used to insult people actually lie in the Latin word pusillanimous which means cowardly weak or timid, which got shortened over time to pusi and then pussy in modern times. Just because it’s spelled exactly the same way as the word for vagina doesn’t mean it IS the same word, just like pen and pen or book and book.
unreligious
It’s amazing the mental gymnastics some people go through to try and pretend things are not what they are.
SactoMan
Or to make them what they want them to be.
thisisnotreal
I never said I agreed with what he said to her or that I thought he was right for saying it cuz he was wrong. I was merely pointing out that he was not calling a trans woman a vagina, which would indeed be problematic given the situation, but that he was in fact calling her weak. Both are offensive things to say to a trans person or anyone for that matter, but if your gonna go after a person for attacking someone else, then at least know what exactly is being implied in the exchange. Both are bad, but there is a difference between calling someone weak and calling someone a part of female anatomy.
uberhund
Bigotry isn’t pushing the line between what’s acceptable and what’s not – it’s hardly new, it’s hardly cutting edge! Yes, a racist comedian can appeal to a racist audience with racist jokes – what else is new? And a homophobic comedian can do the same thing, as Hart has demonstrated.
The Alternative Comedy revolution of the 80s, that drove a lot of the old sexist, racist comedians out of business, was popular because it stopped picking on easy targets and acting like the school bully. Instead it picked on people in power, on the police, on the rich. THAT was cutting edge in a capitalist society – not just lampooning the traditional hate-targets.
So yes, comedians should be cutting edge, but just remember, bigotry is not the cutting edge, it’s old, tired, and, hopefully, soon to die.
VaJohn
And thank you, D.L. Hughley, for your stalwart, impassioned, even historic defense of Doug Tracht…oh, wait…
Terrycloth
If you’re a comedian and before your concert starts you say ..I push boundaries and limits , in my act I offend just about everybody , gays , women , blacks , Jews, and everything in between .if you’re over sensitive or easily offended , this show is NOT for you…but they never do ..and people in the audience get mad . I know comedians will say they shouldnt have to say this..but in.todays climate..just a thought….maybe they should.
Young Timer
D.L, this $h*t ain’t funny.
Don’t defend Hart, unless you believe the same thing he does.
If that’s the case, you’re a homophobe just like he is, along with Cedric and Damon Wayans and every other black comedian who secretly hid anti-gay feelings and publicly came to Hart’s defense.
The key is to hit these brothers in their wallets. That will close their mouths. Just add to the list of actors whose movies I personally will not be spending money on.
Mack
Personally I think there is a difference when you’re telling a joke on stage than tweeting someone. Harts were all tweets. But I guarantee that Hughley and Hart would have a shitstorm if a white comedian started doing jokes on twitter or on stage about “n—-rs” And no it’s not about being too sensitive it’s about RESPECT. And the Black “comedians” don’t show respect to anyone in the LGBTQ community.
Curtispsf
ThANK YOU for pointing out the obvious.
Geeker
One sexist and homophobic piece of shit defending another sexist and homophobic piece of shit…there’s a real shocker.
linniejr
GetOffMyInternets.
Thank you for your response to MarathonBoy. Myself, I’m not trans, however many of my friends are, that not being the issue, someone is speaking up for right. I know a lot of issues that blacks should be on top of, we’re not and white people tend to pick up the slack, i.e. The confederate statue and flag issues. Kevin Hart and D.L. Hugely have like they are for a minute, which is why anything I see that they are in on t.v. I don’t watch.
linniejr
I would ask that everyone in this forum would take a look at something. 1.) it appears that D.L. Hugely and Indya Moore have some misunderstanding. Kevin Hart tweeted some comments about his having issues in reference to if his son were gay. D.L. Hugely seems to think its about telling jokes that offended someone. It wasn’t. I agree with D.L. defending his friend. How many of us defend our friends, whether they are right or wrong? I believe that blowing this up as it has been, shouldn’t be. I’m looking at some of the comments here, and we’re getting angry at people for standing to the courage of their convictions. Also what does transgender mean? It is defined as: denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex. Now I would agree that you wouldn’t call Indya a trans gendered woman, I would say man who transitioned to a woman, either way I wouldn’t say that marathonman is trans-phobic. All I can say is sometimes we as gay men and women, doth protest too much.
Itsonlythetruth
Some of the so called jokes, weren’t jokes. They were flat out homophobic statements. He would beat his son if he caught him playing with a doll house because that’s gay, nothing funny about that statement.
Thad
I’d like to hear further from Indya Moore. We need new voices adding to our conversations. I’ll be listening.
Curtispsf
Indeed.
SactoMan
I love how people aren’t going to go to one of these comedians’ shows or watch one of their movies. Like they were gonna anyway. Black comedians tell these kinds of jokes because they get laughs. They skewer white people, make fun of gays, and also shred black culture. It’s what comedians do. It’s what Richard Pryor did and it’s what Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle also do/did. I’m so tired of these twitter uproars. People need to just get off that twatter shite. But I guess it’s a good source of outrage porn.
As for Indya, she is beautiful and an incredible actress. But not fair to jump on trans outrage in this case. Unless somebody were watching Pose, they would have no idea she is a trans woman. People just need to get off twitter. Like now.
Bob LaBlah
Seriously, I can remember the last time Hollywood produced a summer blockbuster or for that matter ANY movie that was a MUST SEE. And now they can’t even find a host for the most important award who of them all, the Oscars. At this rate the Oscars might be on Comedy Central late Tuesday night after a two year old rerun of Trevor Noah (whom I think would be the perfect host for the Oscars). Here’s another thought. If they just want a black host for the show why not make it a duet with Wanda Sykes and Jennifer Lewis? They can’t do any worse than Anne Hathaway and whom ever the hell it was she cohosted the show with about five years or so ago (I honestly can’t remember who the hell it was she cohosted that show with).
Curtispsf
The straight black community has been getting a pass for years on all the homophobic BS they wouldn’t dare tolerate if an LGBTQ person used the “N” word. Put downs show a lack of imagination and class. I have NO problem with any comedian telling “gay” jokes so long as they’re not using the “F” word or variations of that OR being condescending and mean spirited.
surreal33
I love you Mr Hughley but you are wrong on this one.
Terrycloth
Call Neil Patrick Harris to host..hes liked by everybody hes clean he dances , sings , tells jokes and hes a magician too..hes gay married to a chef and has 2 adorable children