Kevin Hart was due to host an Oscars until a row erupted over his past homophobic tweets.

A golden statue of Kevin Hart holding a Pride flag, and titled ‘Hollow Apology’ has been erected near the venue for this year’s Oscars ceremony.

Writing about the statue on Instagram, Plastic Jesus, whose works often target controversies in the entertainment industry, wrote: “‘AND THE WINNER IS….’

“This year’s Oscar statue ‘Hollow Apology’ featuring Kevin Hart. Over the past decades most countries have made great inroads fighting homophobia and hate, however the current divisive rhetoric seems to have taken us back to the 1970’s.

“So much of the Entertainment industry output comes from LGBTQ Individuals we should be celebrating it and not creating a hateful environment.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuJ9EbfHXqA/

Kevin Hart was due to host the ceremony, until he stood down when his past homophobic tweets were unearthed. “Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay’,” he wrote in one tweet, which has since been deleted.

In 2010, for his Seriously Funny show, he told the audience: “One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear.”

He added: “Keep in mind I’m not homophobic… Be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, as a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will.”

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Hart explained why he was reluctant to take responsibility for his actions, as well as delivering an official apology to the LGBTQ community.

“I will say this, and I want to make this very clear,” he said. “Once again, Kevin Hart apologises for his remarks that hurt members of the LGBTQ community. I apologise.

“These weren’t words that I said to gay individuals. I didn’t say these words to people, at the time, this was our dumb asses on Twitter going back and forth with each other.

“We thought it was okay to talk like that, because that’s how we talked to one another. In that, you go, ‘Fuck! This is wrong now.’”

Hart added: “Now we’re in a space where I’m around people of the LGBTQ community, and I’m now aware of how these words make them feel, and why they say, ‘That shit hurt because of what I’ve been through.’

“So then we say, ‘Hey, man, as a group, let’s erase this shit. Hey, let’s not do this. We don’t post this shit on social media.’”