Kevin Hart is paying tribute to his late father, Henry Witherspoon.
The comedian, 43, announced the death of his dad on Instagram Oct. 12, sharing a series of family photos featuring Witherspoon from over the years.
"RIP to one of the realest & rawest to ever do it…Love you dad," he captioned the post. "Gone but never forgotten."
In his message, Hart told Witherspoon to give mom Nancy, who died in 2007 after a battle with ovarian cancer, "a hug for me," noting "y'all did good man." He then went on to express his gratitude for his dad.
"Thank you for everything….I'm a better father because of you," the Jumanji actor continued. "We will all make you proud…."
In a separate post, Hart shared a photo of him and Witherspoon smiling, captioning it, "RIP spoon."
Hart did not share Witherspoon's cause of death. However, in his 2019 docuseries Kevin Hart: Don't F**k This Up, the Night School alum said his father had battled with and beaten lung cancer but still had COPD.
After hearing news of Witherspoon's death, several of Hart's pals expressed their condolences in the posts' comments sections. "Oh, sorry, Kev," Chelsea Handler commented. "He wouldn't have left you before he knew you were good." Added Wanda Sykes, "Sorry Kev. Sending you and your family lots of love."
Hart has spoken often about his dad in his comedy specials, memoir I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons and in interviews. In a 2017 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the Ride Along star recalled how Witherspoon wasn't always around and the impact this had on his life and parenting decisions.
"My kids actually think I'm the coolest dad on the planet….But I know why I am the way that I am," he said at the time. "See, my dad has a lot to do with that. The mistakes that my dad made—the decisions to do drugs, be in and out of jail, in and out of our lives—I saw firsthand what not being present did. And because of that I now know what being present means. I know what that can do. I know the effect that it will have on your child coming up."
However, Hart noted that his dad later became sober and that they were able to eventually reconcile and develop a tight bond. "Now, I was strong enough to deal with it coming up 'cause I have a different attitude. I'm a positive guy. I choose to go positive instead of negative a lot. And because of that, my relationship with my dad is amazing now," he continued. "And my dad understands how I feel and how I look at things. And my dad is focusing on being the best grandparent that he possibly can."