Kevin Hart Opens Up About Repairing His Relationship With His Father: 'I Don't Have Time to Be Angry'
Kevin Hart has made peace with his father.
The 37-year-old comedian -- who often talks about his complicated relationship with his dad, Henry Witherspoon, in his stand-up routines -- opened up about where they stand now during his appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Monday. Hart talked about his healthy relationship with his own kids, and how his father shaped how he is as a parent.
"My kids think I’m dope!" Hart said, referring to his 12-year-old daughter Heaven and 9-year-old son Hendrix with his first wife, Torrei. "And that’s what makes me happy, like, my kids actually think I’m the coolest dad on the planet. ... I know why I am the way that I am, 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 what effect it can have on your child coming up."
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Hart says he and his dad have actually mended their relationship.
"Now, I was strong enough to deal with it coming up because I have a different attitude, I’m a positive guy," he said of his difficult childhood. "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."
"I think there's a choice," he added. "You always have a choice to make. My thing is, I don't have time to be angry. You know how much time it takes to hold a attitude and a grudge? That's time and energy! I don't have that time! The time that it takes you to go, 'I don't like that person,' and keep that in you ... over a period of time, that's a lot of time that could be devoted to something positive. I choose positive because overall, positive will always beat negative."
Hart is currently expecting his first child with wife Eniko Parrish, a baby boy.
ET spoke with Hart at the Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie premiere last month, where he hilariously talked about getting a little too into his kids' soccer games.
"I'm not going to lie, I'm a little loud out there sometimes but it's worth it," he said. "Both of my kids are amazing out there on the field, and they need to feel that love from their dad."
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