Kevin Hart took a seat at the red table, for a heartfelt discussion with Will Smith this weekend about fatherhood and family.
The special Father’s Day edition of Red Table Talk premiered Sunday and saw Smith take over hosting duties from his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, daughter Willow Smith and mother-in-law Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
Philadelphia natives Smith and Hart discussed their biggest parenting mistakes, their ex-wives, cheating, and trying to educate their children about the dangers of the world.
Related Story: Will Smith Says Growing Up in Abusive Home Made Him Want to Be a Better Father
Smith asked his friend in the episode, “What are the values that you think constitute a good father?”
“Being different from mine. Like, I had a bad father. No disrespect to my dad, because I know he’ll see this,” Hart responded. “My dad wasn’t the best father. My dad had all of the bouts with life that are within the stereotype… the drugs, the absent, the jail, the not in your life because of the relationship with your mother, et cetera. Like, all of that was heavy in my household. Me and my brother knew my dad was on drugs and that’s tough.”
Smith admitted he also had a “rough” relationship with his father, and said he witnessed domestic violence in their home.
“I grew up in a serious military household. And I watched my father bust my mother in the head and knock her down, you know, so that was my image of relating. And I made the decision that I damn sure wasn’t gonna do that when I had my family,” Smith explained.
Hart then defined what he thinks makes a good father.
“I see the mistakes that my dad made, and I’m just trying to be better than that,” he said. “I think that there’s a misconception of what is it that makes a good dad, right? It’s not the gifts. It’s not, you know, ‘one day a week we gonna eat, and then I’m gonna drop you back off.’ It’s the real understanding of time and implementing yourself into your child’s life to where you truly understand what’s going on.”
Related Story: Will Smith Addresses ‘War of Words’ With Janet Hubert on ‘Red Table Talk’
There were lighter moments at the top of show when Smith called Hart out for showing up over an hour late for the interview. “It’s a Black show and that’s the part that’s terrible,” Will quipped to Jada, who stood outside with him and waited for Hart to arrive.
The last time Will took over Red Table Talk was in November 2020, to resolve a decades-long conflict with former The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Janet Hubert. The episode was emotional and raw, as Hubert offered a look into the harassment she suffered from the show’s fans after she was replaced.
The Father’s Day edition of Red Table Talk with Will Smith and Kevin Hart premiered today at 9am PT/12pm ET on Facebook Watch.
Watch the full episode below.
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