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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Harry Rutter

Heartbroken Kevin Hart announces his father has died as he pays emotional tribute

Kevin Hart announced his beloved father Henry Witherspoon has died aged 73.

The comedian, 43, took to social media to share a carousel of memories as he vowed to make his dad 'proud' and thanked him for 'everything'.

In his touching tribute, Kevin made reference to his mother Nancy who died in 2007 following a battle with ovarian cancer, asking his dad to 'give mom a hug'.

"RIP to one of the realest & rawest to ever do it…Love you dad," he penned next to the slideshow of pictures with his father Henry.

He added: "Gone but never forgotten….Give mom a hug for me….y’all did good man."

Kevin vowed to make his late mother and father 'proud' (kevinhart4real/Instagram)
He made the devastating announcement on his Instagram (Getty Images)

Celebrity pals, including Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson have rallied around Kevin following his upsetting announcement.

"Luv u I’m here," said The Rock on Instagram. Comedian Hasan Minhaj added: "Blessings bro. Love to you and the fam."

Rapper T-Pain said: "Glad he got to see you on top of the world bro. Blessings my dude."

The cause of Henry's death is not yet clear, but Henry has battled health issues before – with one of Kevin's tribute photos showing his father with medical tubes in his nose.

The 73-year-old also battled drug addiction, something son Kevin has openly discussed, admitting it put a major strain on their relationship when he was young.

Celebrity pals have rallied around Kevin for support (kevinhart4real/Instagram)
One of Kevin's snaps shows Henry with a medical tube (kevinhart4real/Instagram)

Kevin opened up about how he once forgave Henry for not being there as much when he was growing up in a tell-all interview with People.

"He's my father, so no matter what, that's not going to change. Regardless of my upbringing and the way I was raised and how often he was in my life, he's my dad," he said.

"I have a positive outlook on life regardless and I'm going to love you because you're my father."

Kevin made reference to his dad's addiction in his 2017 memoir I Can't Make This Up.

"I understand that nobody's perfect, people are flawed, people make mistakes," he said. "I shouldn't hold a high level of judgement over your head about things I can't change."

Kevin shared several happy memories on his Instagram (kevinhart4real/Instagram)
He has previously opened up about his dad's drug addiction (NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

He added: "I can't go back in the past and fix this this or fix that. I can only move forward, and I can only love you today and tell you to enjoy this part of your life."

In his later life, Kevin admitted he was lucky and "blessed" to be able to provide for his family.

Kevin explained: "I'm in a position where I'm blessed and I can provide.

"I can say, 'Here, dad, here's a home, here's a car, here's some money. Go spend time with your grandkids. Be the best grandpop…the days that you missed with me are the days that we missed, it's fine', I'm okay with that."

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