Actor-comedian Kevin Hart’s show in Cairo was canceled after he made a joke about ancient Egyptian kings being black.
“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?” Hart reportedly said during his international “Reality Check” tour, which includes stops in the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, according to his website.
According to Middle East Eye, the Egyptian management group R Productions then released a statement saying that “local logistical issues” force them to cancel Hart’s debut show in the country.
“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 February 21st, in Cairo,” the company said on Facebook.
Kevin Hart’s show in Egypt cancelled over jokes ‘black-washing’ ancient Egyptian history@emmaolivernews reports#MiddleEastNow | @laura_i24 pic.twitter.com/mr2R8ovYwE
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) February 24, 2023
The outlet noted that Hart’s joke sparked controversy due to its “Afrocentric” stance, which claims that African royalty ruled over ancient Egypt before Arab invaders moved in and displaced their place of power. One tweet attacking hart said that people of his alleged persuasion “want to steal and attribute Egypt’s civilization to Africans and tell modern Egyptians that we are occupying Egypt from them. We must all participate in the campaign to cancel Kevin’s concert,” according to The Grio.
Hart has also helped to produce a series with Black Sands Entertainment that reportedly promotes Afrocentric views.
The comedian previously faced cancellation when he was slated to host the 2019 Oscars, stepping stepped down within 48 hours of accepting the gig after the Academy demanded he apologizes for his past jokes that some members in the LGBTQ community found offensive.
“I’m not going to continue to go back and tap into the days of old when I moved on, and I’m in a completely different space in my life,” Hart said in a video on Instagram at the time. “I’m going to be me; I’m going to stand my ground.”
Hours later, Hart stepped down from his dream of hosting the Oscars and apologized to the LGBTQ community for his “insensitive words.”
“I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscars … this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists,” he wrote on Twitter. “I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”
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