Kevin Hart shared his candid thoughts on cancel culture, expressing that it isn’t a “realistic” way to address celebrities and their controversies. The Jumanji actor, who has faced backlash for his own scandals, spoke about the “negative” effects of canceling public figures during an interview with O, The Oprah Magazine on May 21.

“You have to reach a point where you become more realistic,” Hart explained during the Instagram Live conversation. “When I say realistic, I mean: Nobody is perfect, and no one ever will be. We’re living in a time where people expect perfection, as if no one ever makes mistakes. But people stumble … It’s strange to hold others to a standard they never asked for.”

Hart has faced controversy in the past, particularly for old hоmophоbic jokes he made on social media, which resurfaced and led him to step down as host of the 2019 Oscars. He later apologized to the LGBTQ community for his “insensitive words,” tweeting in December 2018: “I’m sorry that I hurt people. I’m evolving and will continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together, not tear us apart.”

Although he used the incident as a learning experience, Hart believes fans should approach celebrity missteps differently. “We can’t be so focused on finding and destroying people. While I understand that some things wаrrant criticism, we need to be wise enough to say, ‘What’s happened has happened,’ and give people a chance to move forward,” he said. “Life doesn’t end just because others say it does. Lately, it feels like people are deciding when someone’s time is up, but that’s not how life works.”

Hart also emphasized that individuals should be held “accountable” for mistakes, especially those made when they were younger or before fame, noting that people often don’t know what their future will hold.

“We need to let go of that mindset and allow people to grow,” he concluded. “People love to talk negatively, but they also love positivity. Unfortunately, we often only focus on the negative.”