Christopher Polk/Getty ImagesKevin Hart is "done" with the Oscars, he told Variety in a new interview, published Friday.
The interview appears to have been conducted before Hart's talk with Ellen DeGeneres, which aired on Friday, during which she pleaded with the actor and comedian to still host the 2019 Oscars following his Twitter controversy.
"Would I ever do it? No, it's done. It's done," Hart told Variety. "The moment came and it was a blessing and I was excited at the opportunity and I still am. In my mind I got the job, it was a dream job, and things came up that simply prohibited it from happening. But I don't believe in going backwards."
Hart received backlash after being announced as the 2019 Oscars host in December for deleting past homophobic tweets. He later stepped down as host of the ceremony.
During his interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Hart told DeGeneres, "I have made several mistakes, and I embrace them all. I'm a better man today because of it. In this case, I just said I'm going to walk away because I felt like it was a conversation that was just going to continue and continue and continue. I would much rather say I'm sorry again and walk away...I don't want to have to have this conversation anymore, because I know who I am. I'm not that guy."
DeGeneres, who received backlash for defending Hart on Friday's episode, doubled down on her support for him.
"However you feel about this, the only positive way through it is to talk about it," DeGeneres tweeted Friday. "Thank you for being here, @KevinHart4real."