Kevin Hart announced that his father Henry Witherspoon has died. The actor shared a heartfelt Instagram post honoring his father. Hart has four kids of his own, and he shared how his father helped him become a better dad. Along with Hart’s post, many celebrities have been commenting their condolences to support him through this time.
In an interview with Stephen Colbert back in 2017 (via ET), Hart explained that he had a turbulent relationship with his father when he was young, but it has been repaired. He spoke candidly about his dad not being present during his childhood. Hart also said that he’s a “positive guy” and because of that his relationship with his dad had been “amazing” later in their lives. To honor his late father the comedian posted a few family photos on his Instagram along with a heartfelt caption:
RIP to one of the realest & 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….
Following the post, over a million people liked it, and many celebrities and friends of Hart’s gave him their condolences. Including fellow comedian Wanda Sykes, who wrote:
Sorry Kev. Sending you and your family lots of love.❤️🙏🏾
Along with Sykes, Cedric the Entertainer posted:
Bless up!! 🙏🏾
Many of Hart’s stand-up comedian colleagues also commented. This included Chelsea Handler, who had had Hart on her old Netflix talk show, she wrote:
Oh, sorry, Kev. He wouldn’t have left you before he knew you were good. ❤️
She’s right, Witherspoon did get to see a lot of his son's successes. From Hart’s best movies to his production company Hartbeat Productions merging with Laugh Out Loud. The actor has made big moves in Hollywood, and his dad got to be there for a lot of it.
On top of all of this, he has also maintained a stand-up career, where he occasionally incorporates his father into his jokes. Fellow stand-up comedian Hasan Minhaj, who just released his second special The King’s Jester, commented:
Blessings bro. Love to you and the fam.
Hart has stayed on top of the business, and as one of the hardest-working guys in Hollywood, it’s nice his father got to see his success. As the rapper T-Pain commented:
I glad he got to see you on top of the world bro. Blessings my dude. 🙌❤️
Along with the gallery of photos, Hart also posted a single photo of him and his dad:
More people commented on it, including Marlon Wayans:
So sorry Kev. Love you. Keep making them proud brother
I’m sure Hart will. He stayed very busy in 2022 and we’ll likely see a lot of him in the years to come.
While he’s frequented the 2022 movie schedule, he’s also a family man. He’s told lots of fun stories about his four kids. He also sweetly surprised his wife for her birthday this year. While it’s incredibly sad his father is gone, I’m happy he has his family and friends there to support him.
