Kevin Hart Addresses Backlash Over Joke About Daughter’s Dating Behavior
Upon Netflix dropping Kevin Hart’s latest stand-up special, Zero F**ks Given, there was an internet debate about whether he is still funny.
His routine covered cancel culture, fame, and family life, but for some viewers, it didn’t hit the right notes. One of Hart’s bits about his teenage daughter rubbed some people the wrong way, and he wound up addressing it on social media—twice.
What Kevin Hart said about his daughter
Filmed in the living room at Hart’s house, Zero F**ks Given featured a small masked-up audience for the hour-long set. The comic brought up his children a few times during the performance, and at one point, he touched on his daughter’s dating habits.
Hart spoke on 15-year-old Heaven’s fickle nature and called her “boy crazy.” Running down how she crushed on three different boys in a span of a week, Hart told the audience by the third one—Tim—something clicked in his mind.
“Instantly in my mind, I said, ‘My daughter’s a hoe.’ This is hoe sh*t. Hoe activity right in front of my face,” he joked.
Hart added that he checked in with a “hoe” from his past to verify the habits and concluded his daughter was on the path. But then he said after seeing all three guys, he could understand why she had trouble deciding between them.
The audience ate it up and laughed. For various reasons, some on social media did not.
Hart criticized in Clubhouse chat
Clubhouse, the invitation-only social media app, became a hub when Hart popped in a chat room called “Is Kevin Hart funny” to talk about his latest special. He promoted the Netflix gig, gave out some business advice, and interacted with those in the app.
Some commenters expressed their dissatisfaction with what he said about his daughter, and said he was degrading women, a sexist, and feeding into negative stereotypes about Black women. When he made comments about Black people tearing down their own, he was accused of gaslighting.
The conversation then spilled over to Twitter on Saturday (Nov. 28) where fans continue to be divided and some are stating Hart was dismissive toward women on the app.
Hart reiterated his stance on Instagram
Not long after the Clubhouse session, Hart posted a video on Instagram to emphasize the jokes about his daughter were all comedy, and he wasn’t bashing women in the chat. “Stop with the false narrative,” he said. “If you were in the Clubhouse and part of the conversation, this wasn’t about Black women.”
Hart said his jokes were part of being creative. He added that he was in Clubhouse to promote his work and to have conversation around it since the pandemic’s prevented traditional methods of marketing. He wants the misogyny accusations to stop and would rather people the stream the special on Netflix. “We gotta stop.”
Hart’s supporters believe that some viewers are being overly sensitive about his comedic material, and there’s a segment of the audience who thinks Hart doesn’t take criticism well. Either way, he urges people to stream Zero F**ks Given on Netflix to formulate their own opinions—regardless of whether he agrees.
