Kevin Hart is crushing it lately. You know it, he knows it and his fellow comedians definitely know it.
With a red-hot movie career, it’s no surprise that Hart has found himself in the crosshairs as the target of jealous rivals all too eager to take shots at the current king of comedy.
Hart sat down with Shade 45’s Sway in the Morning show to promote “Get Hard” and wound up responding to critical comments made by his fellow comics Mike Epps and Aries Spears.
Spears credited Hart’s success to his team of writers, while Epps believes Hart is a better salesman than comedian and has accused his writers of stealing jokes from other comics. Hart then fired back, suggesting both Epps and Spears are insecure and jealous of his success.
“Nobody makes it on their own. Nobody. I don’t give a shit who you are. I don’t care what you’ve attained. I don’t care what level of success you’ve had. If you do say that you made it on your own, you shit on the people who have been with you since day one. I would never shit on my guys. I’m in a successful position because of my guys. My guys have helped me build this brand,” Hart said of his go-to scribes Harry Ratchford and Joey Wells.
Hart questioned the intent as well as the timing of the pointed criticisms, which have clearly been on his mind, given his eloquent response. “What is your ultimate goal? What are you trying to accomplish,” Hart asked rhetorically, though he added that he’s still “got love for Aries,” despite Spears’ statements.
“Aries has been doing comedy for about 20 years. Aries, I think he has one special. Not that he can’t put out more specials. But you’re looking at a guy that’s angry at himself. So the only way to make myself feel better is to attack the guy who’s quote-unquote “on top?” Does that make sense?”
Hart’s beef with Epps seemed more personal, as the movie star noted that Epps looked out for him when he was first breaking into the business. He also called Epps to congratulate him on being cast as Richard Pryor in Lee Daniels‘ upcoming biopic.
Epps had previously gone on Sway’s show and admitted, however begrudgingly, that Hart was talented, but that he was at the place where he is now because “he’s a good-ass marketer.”
While Hart has done his best to avoid public squabbles, saying repeatedly that he just wants the best for everyone, he wasn’t about to take that pointed barb lying down.
“Do we see the level of ignorance we’re dealing with right now? If I’m Mike Epps right now, I’m about to do Richard Pryor. I’m about do an amazing film. I don’t have time to worry about fucking Kevin Hart. What do I care about what Kevin Hart’s doing for,” said Hart, who finally lamented, “why am I the topic?”
While it’s true that Hart has a loyal following of millions, with nearly 18 million Twitter followers, that’s nothing to be ashamed about or apologize for.
“Who is your best promoter other than you? So when you say Kevin Hart’s a great marketer, am I not supposed to be? I’m not supposed to put myself in a powerful position so studios gotta leverage relationships and deals with me to step into a brand that I’ve built? 50-plus million people? That’s mine!”
Hart knows the power of his brand and advises celebrities to embrace their fans and interact with them on social media.
“Tweet! That’s not a company doing a promotion thing for me, that’s me saying, ‘hey, I’ll do my own promotion. Don’t cut that check to nobody. You cut that to my promotion company.’ That’s new-generation promotion. We’ll do it. That’s a separate check.”
Hart’s interview is funny, candid and informative, so be sure to watch the whole video on AmbrosiaForHeads.com.