On a recently released clip from HBO’s The Shop, a celebrity talk show that’s kinda like The View except with booze and guys talking in a barber shop, Kevin Hart asks Lil Nas X about the hate he felt growing up as a gay kid in the projects.
In the clip, Lil Nas X watches on as the show’s co-creator Paul Rivera asks him, “And with all that early success, you felt it was important to make an announcement recently;” a reference to Lil Nas X’s coming out at the end of June 2019.
Kevin Hart pipes up, “He said he was gay. So what?”
“But why did he feel that was necessary?” Rivera asks. “It’s not about who cares — that’s actually my question. Why did he feel it was necessary to come out and say that?”
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“It’s not like it was being forced,” Lil Nas X replies. “It’s just like knowing growing up, like, I’m growing up to hate this shit. I’m not supposed to ever like this—”
Hart cuts Lil Nas X off, asking, “Hate what? Hate what?”
“Homosexuality,” Lil Nas X answers. “Gay people.”
“Why?” Hart asks.
“C’mon now,” Lil Nas X replies. “If you’re really from the hood then you know it’s not something — so, it’s like for me, the cool dude with the song on top of everything to say this… Any other time, like, I’m doing this for attention in my eyes. But if you’re doing this when you’re at the top, then you know it’s for real, and it’s like, showing it doesn’t really matter, I guess.”
Basically, Lil Nas X is saying it was important to come out to counteract the homophobia he experienced growing up, and that coming out after achieving major success with his song “Old Town Road” showed that he didn’t just come out for attention.
Here is the clip of their conversation:
.@lilnasx speaks the truth about his choice to come out while at the top. More of The Shop on @HBO now! pic.twitter.com/wETNaPUU5t
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) September 4, 2019
Lil Nas X grew up in the high-crime Georgia projects and dropped out of college before writing “Old Town Road,” his 2019 track which became Billboard’s longest running Number One track of all time.
Hart, of course, gained infamy after he was announced as the host of the 2019 Oscars. After this announcement, people pointed out that in a 2014 standup routine, Hart said he didn’t want a gay son. Hart then began deleting unearthed tweets in which he used anti-gay slurs.
After initially refusing twice-over to apologize for his past tweets, Hart later apologized and stepped down as the Oscars host only to turn around and complain to Ellen DeGeneres and Terri Gross about the easily-offended gays trying to destroy his career. Later on, he lectured the gay community about needing to let people change.
As such, some Twitter users are criticizing Hart’s role in The Shop‘s conversation:
LMAOOOOOOOO at Kevin Hart acting confused and fixing his dumb ass mouth to ask Lil Nas X why he would have homophobic thoughts as a kid.
Uhhhhh, I dont know, maybe cuz SOME people make jokes about beating up their gay children?? FOH— Amir Talai (@AmirTalai) September 4, 2019
Lmao kevin hart tryna act like he not homophobic pic.twitter.com/nRYY3feh2z
— ?Corey? (@Coreycrazy22) September 4, 2019
Hart recently suffered “major back injuries” after a car crash in California.
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Hart seriously injured in car accident? Just wishing Karma would be more active in these times of rampant homophobia….
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Terrycloth
Leaving 2 people seriously injured in a car crash while Kevin leaves the scene .says he went to the hospital .why didn’t he just wait for the firetruck and ambulances that were on their way.he is hiding something..plus anyone who knows Mulholland Dr its a twisty narrow street people drive slowly on..apparently his back didn’t hurt bad enough for him to get out and walk..
Kangol2
He’s a creep. That’s why he didn’t wait with the two other injured people.
Brian
This is from a Yahoo article that I saw today:
An unidentified man called 911 and described seeing “the driver” out of the car who looked “hurt.” He clarified to TMZ that the person he was referring to was the 40-year-old comedian. The witness assumed Hart was the driver because of where he was rescued from. According to the collision report, it was Hart’s friend, Jared Black, who was behind the wheel.
The Jumanji: The Next Level star was picked up by his security detail before California Highway Patrol and first responders arrived. Black and passenger Rebecca Broxterman were still inside the destroyed 1970 Plymouth Barracuda when Hart left. The 911 caller said Black and his fiancée were conscious, but “scared because they’re stuck in there.” He added, “The roof is crushed and the car is pretty totaled.” You can hear the witness yell to both of them, “Stay calm, help’s coming!” Black was eventually rescued from the driver’s seat and the extent of his injuries are unknown. Broxterman was pulled out relatively unharmed.
CHP spokesman Weston Haver tells Yahoo Entertainment that, as of Wednesday morning, they are not investigating whether Hart was driving.
“I know social media was trying to talk about, you know, ‘Kevin Hart was driving,’ but as far as the CHP is concerned we’re not investigating that unless new evidence comes up suggesting that, whether that be a witness or some sort of cell phone footage,” he explained. “It might be looked at then, but as of right now there’s nothing that’s showing signs of that, no evidence.”
Officer Haver also clarified that Hart is not in trouble for leaving the scene of the accident.
“No, it’s not something we’re going to investigate any further unless there’s something that needs to be investigated,” he said. “[Kevin] left the scene, but still called 911 or someone from the house he went to called 911, so there’s no sort of investigation in that sense.”
Kangol2
To Lil Nas X, thank you again for your bravery. You are an inspiration not just for young people your age and even younger, but even for older people who struggle to be true to themselves and live their lives as out gay/queer/LGBTQ people. Your words and ongoing affirmation of yourself as an out Black gay man are really important now, as anti-Black racism and homophobia are resurgent, and your calm, measured discussion with people like Paul Rivera and Kevin Hart is vitally important too.
To Kevin Hart, you know full well, as a homophobe, what kind of BS Lil Nas X and most gay people, including Black gay people growing up in the hood, go through. I don’t doubt that you have tossed off more than a few “f-” bombs and “punks” and other demeaning terms over the years, and not just in your comedy routine. We see your @ss parading around with women on a regular basis, whether we want to or not, so your “So what?” is especially clueless. Being out, being visible, being yourself matters. Wake the f*ck up and stop being so childish. Didn’t that car accident bang some sense into you?
Brian
God, I really hate when people play dumb to defend a stupid point, as if they don’t know how the world really works. These two guys know damn well why Nas’ coming out is important in the black and gay communities.
Debra Messing just did the same thing trying to explain her idiotic blacklisting comments. She just didn’t understand why someone donating to Trump’s campaign wouldn’t want to be as open and proud of their contributions as she is. And she said this just a few weeks after the Equinox media sh!tshow that couldn’t have made the difference any clearer.
rustyiam
Messing is a c u next Tuesday dried up angry old hag that likely has not had anything up her hole except a tampon in ages!
Kangol2
@rustyiam, you’re sounding a bit hysterical. Clearly you’re one of those people who “can’t handle the truth.”
deacon
Thank you for Gay white splaining what LNX meant, if you didn’t how a black gay would I have ever understood where he was coming from.
dinard38
Oh Queerty. Why hath thou forsaken proofreading and editing? You refer to the rapper as Lil Nas X and Lil Was X, several times.
Brian
It’s Queerty. Just be grateful they didn’t call him Lil Bow Wow.
Terrycloth
Ill Nas got lucky with his song..I’ll be surprised if he has another hit..its basically a novelty song and act. ..one hit wonder ..I personally think the song isn’t that good..its different for country charts. When the novelty wears off so does his career
PinkoOfTheGange
Guessing one more hit than thou.
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