‘I stand with a man in his time of hurt’: Kevin Hart slams critics of his support for Jussie Smollett

Kevin Hart responded on social media to the heavy criticism he received for offering support to Jussie Smollett after a violent attack and slammed his critics for taking issue with his encouraging words, PEOPLE reports.

—EXCLUSIVE: Family of ‘Empire’ star Jussie Smollett issues statement—

“I stand with a man in his time of hurt and need by giving him heartfelt support and u take the time to harp on my 10yr past that I have apologized about and moved on from by being a better person,” Hart tweeted Wednesday.

Just a day before, Hart was blasted by critics who cited his past homophobic tweets as a disqualifier when it came to sending supportive sentiments the Empire star’s way. Hart was called out and criticized with many still angered over his 10-year-old homophobic jokes that have recently dogged him into stepping down as host of the Oscars, PEOPLE reports.

“Do you want change? If so I am an example of what u want people to do… CHANGE!” Hart added.

I stand with a man in his time of hurt and need by giving him heart felt support and u take the time to harp on my 10yr past that I have apologized about and moved on from by being a better person. Do you want change? If so I am an example of what u want people to do…CHANGE! https://t.co/Ybbo8OYKTt

— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) January 30, 2019

Like many celebrities, Hart took to Instagram to stand with Smollett after he was violently attacked in Chicago.

But it didn’t go over well for Hart who was blasted for his old homophobic jokes that landed him in the middle of controversy. He has apologized several times, and has made several appearances on shows like “Good Morning America” and “Ellen” in which comedian Ellen DeGeneres encouraged him to consider hosting the Oscars. But the internet was far less forgiving and continued to remind him of the jokes, insisting the impact lingered.

Hart, however, said he’s trying to be the change.

—OPINION: The vicious homophobic and racist attack on Jussie Smollett shows the terrifying danger of MAGA thinking—

Persons of Interest Sought

It looks like police are finally making progress in tracking down the people responsible for the racist, homophobic attack against Smollett. 

According to TMZ, investigators have captured multiple persons of interest on surveillance video and plan to release photos to the public in an effort to bring them in for questioning.

While they didn’t refer to the individuals as “suspects,” they plan to release the images soon.

The Empire actor and singer was brutally beaten by two men wearing ski masks in Chicago early Tuesday morning. They reportedly doused the openly gay actor with bleach and tied a noose around his neck while shouting “MAGA country.”

According to the reports, Smollett was walking out of Subway when someone yelled “Aren’t you that f***ot Empire n*****?” before attacking him.

According to That Grape Juice, Fox Studios received hate mail earlier this month targeted to the 36-year-old actor. Cut out letters from magazines spelled out “You will die black f**.”