 Hart characterized the protest as non-constructive and stated "If you don’t believe people change, grow as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you".On December 7, he tweeted an apology to the LGBTQ community following criticism that he did not issue one the previous day.On January 3, 2019, Hart announced he was going to reconsider stepping down as host, after openly lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who has hosted the Academy Awards multiple times, expressed support for Hart to do so and said she telephoned the Academy to ask if Hart would be able to reverse his decision if he wished and, according to DeGeneres, the Academy said he would be able to do so.