Kevin Hart told Access Hollywood on Saturday that his Instagram picture of a man he claimed burglarized his home earlier this month — a photo that was not of the real culprit — was his way of casting a new light on an unfortunate situation.
Earlier this week, the comedian posted a pic of a man in a ski mask on his Instagram page, claiming the still was from security footage from the burglary at his home. Some didn’t immediately realize the photo was not of the alleged burglar. The post also garnered headlines as it was later revealed that image was a stock photo.
On Saturday morning, while on the red carpet in New York City for the premiere of his new animated film, “The Secret Life of Pets,” the actor and funnyman told Access Hollywood about why he posted the fake pic.
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“Hey, here’s the thing, you have to find a positive to any negative, okay? I’m never going to address me getting robbed with a statement of, ‘Hey, people, look!’ You have to find a way to poke fun at it and to let people relax,” he told Access Hollywood. “At the end of the day, everything that was taken was material stuff. All that can be replaced. My health is fine, my kids, my fiancée. Nobody was hurt, nobody was injured – that’s what’s important. So, it was a way [for] me to respond to all of the constant – ‘Kev, I can’t believe!’ ‘Kev, what you gonna do?’ So I just posted what TMZ posted. That’s all.”
Earlier this month, burglars broke into the entertainer’s home and took approximately $500,000 worth of items from his home, according to People.
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Kevin posted the image of the ski mask man on Instagram on Thursday with a caption suggesting it was security footage.
“Here is a picture from the security cameras of the jacka** that’s been robbing houses….Real smart move wearing the cool ski mask that shows ur eyebrows & the bags under ur eyes,” he wrote to accompany the pic, which he confirmed to Access on Saturday’s red carpet, was taken from TMZ. “We are on yo a** man….I’m about to show u the power of social media….One of my followers might recognize u and might not like you which would mean that they could careless about giving u up….Lets play a game of tell on the robber real quick…who knows I might get lucky!!!!!”
When asked if there was a video camera on his property and if the authorities have it, Kevin told Access, “Yes, of course. The cops do what they do.”
“That’s what home insurance is for,” he added.
— Jolie Lash
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