Oscars 2019: Kevin Hart spends awards night hitting a punchbag after stepping down from hosting duties following homophobic tweet row

The 39-year-old comic dropped out of hosting the ceremony in December after historic homophobic tweets that he'd sent resurfaced online.

Sharing a black and white video of himself channeling his anger, the star appeared to allude to the scandal in his caption as he wrote: "When you feel like you have nothing left is when you find a way to push & give more….

"Always grinding. #HustleHart …. Shoutout to @hollywoodhino for always pushing".

The timing of the post was not lost on Kevin's followers, with one commenting: "Mad because you couldn't host the Oscars."

Another added: "The punching bag represent the Oscars?"

A third said: "Posting when the Oscars are on? You don't need to proof that you aren't watching."

Kevin took to Twitter towards the end of last year to announce that he had stepped down as the host of the Academy Awards.

He'd previously described the gig as a "dream come true" – but faced backlash when he refused to apologise for the controversial tweets, which he sent over a decade ago.

Kevin tweeted at the time: "I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscars…. This is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists."

He then offered the long-awaited apology, adding: "I sincerely apologise to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.

"I'm sorry that I hurt people. I am evolving and want to continue to do so. My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart.

"Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again."

Instead of replacing Kevin, the Academy opted to have no host for this year's show – for the first time in 30 years.

The lacklustre ceremony  was dubbed "boring" by viewers today – which is still a step up from the last time that the show was host-less.

The 1989 Academy Awards were branded a "disaster" at the time, with Rob Lowe's musical number with Snow White proving to be a particularly notable moment from the night.

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