Yesterday (Oct. 12), Kevin Hart took to Instagram to reveal that his father passed away. In a couple of posts, the star comedian shared photos with Henry Witherspoon and family over the years. He also gave a beautiful tribute while referencing his late mother Nancy Hart:
“RIP to one of the realest [and] rawest to ever do it…Love you dad. Gone but never forgotten…Give mom a hug for me. Y’all did good man. Thank you for everything…I’m a better father because of you…We will all make you proud…”
Stories about Witherspoon became a staple during much of Hart’s standup career. One particular memory was provided in hilarious fashion during Hart‘s Netflix special Zero F**ks Given:
In a past interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Hart opened up about learning from his father’s mistakes and repairing their relationship:
“I know why I am the way that I am, see, my dad has a lot to do with that. The mistakes that my dad made, you know, the decisions to do drugs, being in and out of jail, in and out of our lives. I saw firsthand what not being present did and because of that, I now know what being present means. I know what that can do, I know the effect that it’ll have on your child coming up.”
He continued: “I choose to go positive instead of negative a lot and because of that, my relationship with my dad is amazing now. And my dad understands how I feel and how I look at things, and now my dad is focusing on being the best grandparent that he possibly can…my thing is, I don’t have time to be angry.”
Check out Kevin Hart‘s message to his father and more below. Our condolences go out to him and his family.