Kevin Hart acknowledged that he was “never prepared” for the impact his public scandals had on his family.
While having a conversation with Will Smith on the Red Table Talk chat show, the comedian spoke about the effect of betrayal and past homophobic tweets on his relationship with his family.
“I got on some armour. It’s very hard to shoot through this and bother me,” the 41-year-old said.
But he said it’s a “different feeling”, now that his kids are involved.
“When your child shows disappointment, shows emotion and you have those conversations, the head drops for the first time.”
Moreover, the Jumanji star apologised to his wife and children in 2017, after claiming someone was trying to blackmail him over a video showing him with another woman.
“I can say having a little girl in my life, it’s tough. You don’t realise the impact that your mistakes could truly have,” he added.
His kids “pulled a different emotional chord,” mostly when he spoke to his daughter Heaven after “the whole cheating display”.
“My talk with Heaven. That was one like no other,” he said.
“Getting my daughter back, getting her to understand that I was sorry, that I made a mistake. That was real.”
The actor admitted that Heaven keeps him in check by being tough on him.
Will Smith on the other hand shared his experience, said he and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith shared everything with their children to “get out ahead of it”.
But Kevin Hart said he has “never been able to get to the kids first”.
Besides, Kevin received a lot of criticism after old tweets appeared in which he showed anti-gay sentiments and used homophobic language.
In the beginning, he refused to apologise, before saying – “I’m sorry I hurt people”.
Because of this, he stepped down as the 2019 host for the Oscars ceremony.
“When the whole thing started to happen with the LGBTQ+ community and the misconception of me, what I was and what I am and what I feel, my daughter was so upset because she couldn’t process how people could think this about her father,” he told Will Smith.
It was then that he realised how his “fame has an impact” on his family.
He admitted his daughter also “checked” him and had a conversation about being careful with the things he says publicly.
Relationships “have improved”, he said, because of his own awareness of the things he’s done “to bring havoc or problem”.
And moving forward, Kevin Hart acknowledged that aged 41, he’s getting “more mature” and has learned the importance of listening to others.
“I wish that I would’ve arrived at this space in my earlier years and I just want to be able to handle a lot of situations differently.”
