Kevin Hart Talks Fitness, Family & His Career In Rolling Stone Magazine

Kevin Hart is the latest celebrity to cover Rolling Stone Magazine. In his cover story, Kevin Hart discusses several topics, including who he feels is his competition and his greatest fear as a parent.

Hart touches on some of his humble beginnings, from Soul Plane flopping, to being rejected by SNL. He even talks about taking a gig at a male strip club.  “I’ve been to some of the damnedest places for comedy,” Hart says. “I performed in a place in Atlantic City called Sweet Cheeks. It was a male strip night, and some nights a female strip night, and in the middle they would stop the stripper show and have intermission, where as comedians it was our job to go up and make the people laugh. I performed at family dinners, family functions, like where you get there and you’re the entertainment for a household. You name it: All shots to my pride have been taken.”

Kevin Hart also talks about how the change in times (i.e. the need to be politically correct) have effected comedy and references his 2010 standup, Seriously Funny, in which he tells the audience, “One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear. Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic. . . . Be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, as a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will.” This leads into vignettes in which Hart reacts to imagined signs of Hendrix’s blossoming homosexuality with interjections of “Stop, that’s gay!”

Kevin reflected on that joke 5 years later, saying, “It’s about my fear. I’m thinking about what I did as a dad, did I do something wrong, and if I did, what was it? Not that I’m not gonna love my son or think about him any differently. The funny thing within that joke is it’s me getting mad at my son because of my own insecurities — I panicked. It has nothing to do with him, it’s about me. That’s the difference between bringing a joke across that’s well thought-out and saying something just to ruffle feathers.” Even so, he adds, “I wouldn’t tell that joke today, because when I said it, the times weren’t as sensitive as they are now. I think we love to make big deals out of things that aren’t necessarily big deals, because we can. These things become public spectacles. So why set yourself up for failure?”

To read the entire interview, visit Rolling Stone Magazine.