Dave Chappelle has been taking a lot of heat over material that some have dubbed transphobic in his recent Netflix special “The Closer”, but fellow comedian Kevin Hart has got his back.

In a new interview with the New York Times to promote his new Netflix series “True Story”, Hart defends Chappelle.

“That man don’t have a hateful bone in his body. And I don’t say that because it’s hypothetical — I say that because I know him,” Hart declared. “I know his world. I know that he embraces the LGBT+ community, because he has friends who are close to him from that community. I know that his kids understand equality, fair treatment, love. I know that his wife embeds that in their kids. I know why people embrace him. He’s a good dude.”

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In the interview, Hart reminded that he had his own high-profile encounter with so-called cancel culture, which ultimately led him to step down from hosting the 2019 Oscars due to controversy over homophobic tweets that resurfaced from a decade earlier.

“The difference in what I went through: I learned a lesson in ego. My ego blinded me to where I couldn’t see what the real thing was about. My ego had me thinking: You want me to apologize? I already did. This is 10 years ago. Why are you asking like this is me, now, when I said these things?” he explained.

“With Dave, I think the media have an amazing way of making what they want a narrative to be. Within this conversation attached to Dave, nobody’s hearing what his attempt is,” he added. “They’re hearing a narrative that’s been created… Everybody needs to come down off the soapbox and get to a place of solution.”

READ MORE: Dave Chappelle Addresses ‘The Closer’ Controversy, Says He Won’t Be ‘Bending To Anyone’s Demands’

As Hart pointed out, the effort being put into protesting Chappelle could be put to better use.

“You can find a joke tasteful or distasteful,” Hart said. “If you’re a supporter of a performer, then you’re probably okay with whatever’s happening. And if you’re not a fan, you’re infuriated and you’re outraged. Rightfully so — you have every right to be. You also have a right to not support it. But the energy that’s put into wanting to change or end someone, it’s getting out of hand.”