Barack, Michelle Obama Take A Chance On Kevin Hart’s ‘Fatherhood’ Despite Actor’s Homophobia Controversy

Barack and Michelle Obama is taking a chance on Kevin Hart’s “Fatherhood” despite the controversy that rocked the actor’s career in the recent years.

The former first couple’s production company Higher Ground has decided to support Hart’s drama film by releasing it this year in partnership with Netflix. The theatrical release of the movie with Sony was previously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

“Fatherhood” tells the story of a man (played by Hart) who unexpectedly becomes a single dad when his wife dies after giving birth to their daughter. It is based on the book “Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss & Love” by Matthew Logelin.

Though the movie presents a very relevant message, Hart’s involvement in it somehow raised eyebrows since the actor was previously caught in a serious controversy. In 2018, Hart received a lot of flak over his unearthed homophobic jokes.

The issue got very serious that Hart’s hosting gig for the2019 Oscars was affected. Just less than an hour after he was announced as the host, many netizens took to social media to call out the Academy Awards for choosing the actor despite making homophobic jokes in the past and failing to apologize for them.

Hart was given an ultimatum by the Academy: publicly apologize or step down, and he chose the latter. At the time, the actor said that he has already addressed the issue several times before, so he no longer needed to apologize for it. His decision led to more backlash from the LGBTQ community, as per Billboard.

Despite what happened, the Obamas are still willing to give Hart a chance since his movie offers an on-brand message for them. And so “Fatherhood,” which was previously scheduled to hit theaters on April 16, is now set to arrive on Netflix on June 18, just before Father’s Day.

The movie is directed by Paul Weitz. Its screenplay is by Weitz and Dana Stevens. Hart is the producer of the project along with Marty Bowen, Peter Kiernan and David Beaubaire. Channing Tatum is also onboard the project as executive producer, according to Deadline.