Kevin Hart ruled out returning as Oscars host shortly before his Ellen interview

Variety

“Would I ever do it? No, it’s done. It’s done,” Hart told Variety on Thursday, hours before he said on Ellen DeGeneres' show that he would reconsider after she vouched for him to the Academy. “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.”