So, Kevin Hart should probably tell the Hollywood elite to go pound sand

Hey, remember when comedian Kevin Hart made those jokes many years ago that offended a whole lot of people in 2018?

No, neither do I, because he mainly made them when he wasn't one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. Frankly, few entertainment fans care about what struggling actors/comedians are doing if it doesn't have something to do with the Kardashians.

At any rate, Hart made LGBT-related jokes, and people sure were mad about those LGBT-related jokes. After Hart had already been named host of the 2019 Oscars, people started dragging his name through the mud.

As a result of social media's take-no-prisoners mob — as well as the Academy's desire to pacify every last person who has any kind of feeling about anything in a post-Harvey Weinstein world — Hart stepped down from his hosting duties.

The Academy reportedly told Hart that he'd have to publicly apologize for the offending tweets (something he said he'd already done in the past) if he wanted to remain as the show's host.

Hart, sticking to his principles, said that he'd already addressed these tweets once before, and had apologized for them.

Instead of issuing redundant apologies, he resigned.

On Friday, openly gay fellow comedian Ellen DeGeneres hosted Hart on her daytime talk show and revealed that she spoke to Academy execs about the matter.

Those executives said that they absolutely wanted Hart to resume his hosting duties, and chalked the entire debacle up to a misunderstanding.

For his part, Hart said that he'd have to do some deep soul-searching before committing to any relevant decisions about the Oscars.

Frankly, though, Hart should stick to his principles, set the example, and remove himself from the toxic soup that is Hollywood's "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" culture that trashed the industry in the first place.

Hart's star is rising higher than ever — he doesn't need to kiss up to the Academy in order to make it anymore.

The 2019 Oscars are set to air on Feb. 24.

Here's to hoping Hart tells them to go pound sand at least 51 different times between now and then.