Kevin Hart once walked off Jimmy Fallon's set — for a reason we can totally get behind
Kevin Hart doesn't enjoy facing his fears! In September 2018, when the 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' star appeared on 'The Tonight Show' alongside Australian conversationalist, Robert Irwin, host Jimmy Fallon had Hart fearing for his life, particularly when he spotted a tarantula. Fallon, enjoying himself, had asked Hart to hold a fuzzy arachnid. Hart, however, bailed and left the stage as soon as he saw the creature.
As per The Things, Irwin began, "For this one (tarantula), I need to make sure that you are really nice and calm and don't move too much for this one. And also, don't breathe on it too much because it'll set it off." Fallon too urged Hart, "Close your eyes. Close your eyes," to which he responded, "Okay. Okay. Wait. Before you pull it out, it doesn't sound like this is the animal for me." Fallon pressed, "Just close your eyes, put your hands out."
Hart playing along, muttered, "Get it out and let me see it." Fallon instructed, "Just close your eyes. Please, Kevin." A scared Hart, however, yelled, "I can't...It's not gonna happen, Jimmy. This is how Black people die in horror movies. It's true." Fallon assured, "It's not true at all...close your eyes, and he's gonna put something fluffy on your hand." Scared yet curious, Hart asked, "Is it fast?" to which Irwin answered, "No, no. Not at all. She's really cute. Her name is Big Red," as he brought out a tarantula from his carrier.
Hart shocked, screamed, "Stay your a** over there man." Fallon mocked, "Dude, he's 14 years old." Unconvinced, Hart suggested, "Hey, I don't care, Jimmy. I don't care Jimmy. Okay, it's your birthday. You should hold that spider. It's your birthday, man. Go ahead, Jimmy. That looks like it [will] jump. Yeah, that ain't gonna happen for me, bro." Meanwhile, Irwin, utterly calm, gushed, "They're really cool. They're the most amazing spider ever. They are my favorite. They are so cool." Subsequently, as Irwin placed the tarantula on Fallon's hands, Hart continued, "Oh Ohh! Oh sh**, Oh, my god. Oh, Jimmy, I'm nervous for you. I'm nervous for you, man."
Soon after, much to the amusement of the studio audience, Fallon freaked out himself and begged Irwin to take the spider off his hands. Fallon told Hart, "I'm gonna kill you. Dude, that was the scariest thing that ever happened in my lifetime." Hart later also took to X (formerly Twitter) to exclaim, "I was so damn scared," the Daily Mail reported.
While the segment was Hart's worst nightmare, Mike DiCenzo, one of the producers of the show, couldn't have been more satisfied with the episode. He remarked, "Kevin Hart reacting with pure fear to Robert Irwin's animals was an instant classic segment." Hart's reaction later also prompted singer Nick Jonas to have his fair share of fun with him. On 'Kevin Hart: What the Fit', Jonas urged Hart to hold a scorpion. "It's not going to jump at you, I promise," an animal guide told Hart. In response, Hart quipped, "I promise it won't because I ain't gonna touch it."
