Jamie Lee Curtis has criticised Kevin Hart for his past homophobic tweets.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis

The 'Halloween' actress spoke out after the 39-year-old star stepped down as the host of the 2019 Oscars host following the emergence of previous offensive tweets - some of which used the word "gay" as an insult, and all of which have now been deleted - and later issued an apology.

Referring to Hart saying all he does is "spread positivity" in a statement, Curtis simply posted on Twitter: "Homophobia is not positivity."

The 'Night School' actor had previously addressed his unacceptable social media posts in an Instagram video of himself lying on a bed.

He said: "I swear man our world is becoming beyond crazy. I'm not going to let the craziness frustrate me or anger me especially when I worked hard to get to the mental space that I am at now.

"My team calls me, 'Oh my God, Kevin, the world is upset about tweets you did years ago.' Oh my God. Guys, I'm almost 40 years old. If you don't believe that people grow, change, evolve as they get older, I don't know what to tell you. If you want to hold people in a position where they always have to justify or explain their past - then do you.

"I'm the wrong guy, man. I'm in a great place, a great mature place where all I do is spread positivity. If you're not doing that, you're not on my page."

Kevin - who revealed just two days ago he was to host the 2019 Academy Awards, describing the moment as "the opportunity of a lifetime" - apologised LGBTQ community for his previous "insensitive words".

He tweeted: "I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year's Oscar's ... this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past. (sic)"