Kevin Hart recently came under fire after the Academy presented him with an ultimatum, stating that if he did not publicly apologize for his former homophobic comments, he would be forced to step down as host of the 91st annual telecast of the Oscars.

After the comedian stated that he chose not to follow their order, ultimately walking away from the opportunity, some of his celebrity peers came to his defense, including fellow comic Nick Cannon, who recently expounded on why he thought the actor sticking to his guns was so admirable.

Speaking with People Now, the Wild N' Out host said that he is incredibly proud of Hart for stepping down as host in the midst of the controversy over his old, massively offensive tweets.

"I was proud that [he] got the job, but I was even more proud of the way that [he] handled this entire situation," he said. "What I've done in the past, and why I commend him for what he did, he wasn't gonna allow some organization to dictate or control how he moves."

The actor/comedian went on to explain just why he found the sequencing of his friend's decision to be so "profound."

"It was very fascinating to me that he first chose to step down, then he apologized if he offended anyone," he said. "Because, he wasn't going to let somebody say, 'You can keep this job, we're gonna hang this job over your head, if you do this.'"

He didn't stop there. Cannon went on to further praise Hart's approach, giving his own opinion as to why he felt he made a bigger statement with this outcome than he would have if he had followed the Academy's request.

"[He said], 'You're not gonna tell me what I'm gonna do. But if I offend anyone, I truly apologize. But you can keep your job,'" he continued. "I thought, 'Oh, that's a gangster move.'"

The hypothetical non-apology "apology" that Cannon offered wasn't quite the approach that Hart ended up taking, however, as he eventually did express his regrets for his haunting comments in a tweet after he decided to walk away from the opportunity.