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Kevin Hart Blasts “Ridiculous” Ghostbusters Controversy

Actor and comedian Kevin Hart has spoken out in defence of the ‘Ghostbusters’ reboot and its cast.

Paul Feig’s all-female reworking of the 1984 supernatural comedy classic was controversial from the get-go, and has proved every bit as divisive since hitting cinemas. It received mixed reviews, and has to date made only $164 million worldwide; not great, given it cost a reported $144 million to make.

While much of the fan hate was rooted in the very idea of ‘Ghostbusters’ being rebooted at all, the most notorious aspect of the reaction to the film has been the level of sexist abuse levelled at the cast. Worse yet was the heinous racial abuse directed at Patty actress Leslie Jones, who temporarily quit Twitter after a deluge of hateful tweets.

Hart, star of ‘Ride Along’ and ‘Central Intelligence’ (who admits “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a good movie review”), has addressed the matter with Entertainment Weekly, and clearly seems incensed by it all.

“The flack they were trying to give these women in ‘Ghostbusters,’ it was just so ridiculous. People take remakes as if you’re trying to destroy what’s been done — you’re living in the day and age where every movie’s been done!

“There’s no such thing as a unique idea right now, unless you go to f—ing Jupiter or Mars. Every cop movie, every detective movie, every buddy movie, every female buddy movie, every male buddy movie, every dinosaur movie, every space movie, anything with aliens, we’ve done it.

“Look, it’s impossible not to get to this place where you’re trying to make things new and unique to your generation. So I applaud those women for going and doing it, and they were funny. Those women were funny.

“Melissa McCarthy is a great friend of mine, and so is Leslie [Jones]. And not only has Leslie been in the business of comedy for years, but the first opportunity she has in a big role, people try to destroy her character — the sea of negative flack that came with it, it was ridiculous… They didn’t go back and punch Dan Aykroyd in the face!

“I just applaud them all because I’m a fan of comedy. And I think every single woman that was cast in that movie did an amazing job.”

“So that’s just my little bit of positivity right there… I just wanted to give a shoutout — especially to my girl Leslie. You worked hard to get here, you’re gonna get here, and then there’s another stop after this. Don’t let that s— get to you. Just keep winning. Keep working hard, keep breaking down the barriers.”

Hart will soon get to experience being part of a high-profile remake himself, as he joins Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Nick Jonas and Tom Holland in ‘Jumanji,’ due July 2017.

Picture Credit: Sony, Warner Bros

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