TODAY’S PAPER | May 11, 2026 | EPAPER

Kevin Hart and Katt Williams turn years of feud into roast-night truce

Katt Williams surprised the crowd at Kevin Hart’s roast, ending years of public tension


Pop Culture & Art May 11, 2026 1 min read
Photo: Reuters

At Netflix’s celebrity roast of Kevin Hart, the night’s biggest surprise came when Katt Williams stepped onto the stage at the Kia Forum.

The moment carried extra weight because Hart and Williams had spent years trading public jabs. Their feud flared again in 2024 when Williams accused Hart of being an industry plant and of taking movie roles from him. So when Williams appeared, it was immediately clear this was more than a routine roast cameo.

He leaned straight into that history. Williams joked that Hart’s star power must be slipping if producers had started inviting his enemies. He also took aim at Hart’s appearance at the controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival, calling the roast “my Riyadh Comedy Festival, only one with a soul.”

Williams then revived his familiar “industry plant” line, landing one of the night’s biggest laughs when he said he keeps trying to bury Hart, but Hart keeps springing back up “just like a plant.” He also joked that the head of Netflix had his hand up Hart’s back and could make him do anything.

The real turn came after Williams finished.

Instead of firing back, Hart addressed him directly. He admitted the appearance surprised him, said he had always been a fan, and acknowledged they had been “at odds for years on years.” Then, in front of the crowd, he offered an olive branch and asked if they could finally move on.

Hart still got his own jokes in later, mocking Williams’ claim that he had taken his movie roles by listing hits like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and joking nobody wanted “a pimp in Jumanji.”

But by then, the mood had shifted. What began as one of the sharpest roast segments of the night ended with something rarer, two comedians using the stage to finally put years of public tension behind them.

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