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Home / Entertainment

Kevin Hart's 'tone deaf' joke backfires on Saturday Night Live

Daily Telegraph UK
17 Dec, 2017 06:43 PM2 mins to read

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Actor Kevin Hart speaks onstage. Photo / Getty

Actor Kevin Hart speaks onstage. Photo / Getty

Kevin Hart put his foot in it again with a joke he made on Saturday Night Live.

As the host of SNL's final episode of the year, the actor and comedian performed a seven-minute monologue to open the show.

A joke he made about mothers not being fun has received a swift backlash online, with thousands calling it out as offensive and sexist.

"All of the fun responsibility lies on the shoulder of the father.” -@KevinHart4real #SNL pic.twitter.com/9Ou50jkMn5

— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) December 17, 2017

Talking about mothers' responsibilities versus that of fathers', he said:

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"You never heard a kid say, 'I can't wait to get home and play with my mum. You ain't never heard that. 'Can't wait for mummy and me time.' That don't exist. Don't no kids say that.

"All the fun responsibility lies on the shoulder of the father."

Hart clearly didn't 'read the room', especially given the current atmosphere after Hollywood's sexual harassment scandal has brought gender inequality issues under the microscope again.

Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish attends Launch Of Laugh Out Loud on August 03, 2017 in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty
Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish attends Launch Of Laugh Out Loud on August 03, 2017 in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty

"The sheer acceptance of sexism in the opening monologue is saddening," one Twitter user said.

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"[Hart] came across particularly tone deaf on #SNL monologue considering today's 'climate,'" wrote another.

The sheer acceptance of sexism in the opening monologue is saddening.

— Aalia (@AaliaAlavi) December 17, 2017

Family jokes aren't as funny when you know they cheated on their pregnant wife. #SNL

— Ali (@madeira_blue) December 17, 2017

It's another blow to the Jumanji remake star's image after he recently confessed to cheating on his wife Eniko Parrish while she was pregnant. Their son Kenzo was born last month.

Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish attend the premiere of Columbia Pictures' 'Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle' on December 11, 2017. Photo / Getty
Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish attend the premiere of Columbia Pictures' 'Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle' on December 11, 2017. Photo / Getty

"I'm hoping that she has a heart to where she can forgive me and understand that this is not going to be a reoccurring thing and allow me to recover from my f***ing massive mistake," he said during an interview with US radio station Power 105.1.

"That's what I'm trying to do not only as a man, but within teaching a lesson to my son. If you do something wrong, stand in front of your wrong s**t, don't run away from it."

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