Kevin Hart is recovering after severely injuring himself in a friendly foot race. (See his video below.)
“This is just a public service announcement, because I know people may see me out and I don’t want you to be alarmed, but I’m in a wheelchair,” Hart said in an Instagram video Wednesday. “Why? Because I tried to jump out there and do some young stuff.”
The 44-year-old said he “got into a little debate” with former New England Patriots running back Stevan Ridley about who was faster ― and ended up tearing his lower abdomen and abductors in a 40-yard dash. Hart used that experience to educate his peers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the age 40 is real … it’s not a game,” the comedian said. “Respect that age — or that age will make you respect it. I was just forced to respect it. ... I tried to go out there and do some young man stuff and I was told to sit my ass down.”
Hart joked that he at least beat his 34-year-old opponent to the punch by getting “this story out there before” him, and has already received a ton of support in the comments from Will Smith, Tracee Ellis Ross and frequent co-star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“I tore my abductor off my pelvis during a wrestling match,” wrote the former wrestler, who apparently suffered the same injuries during a 2013 match. “True story. You’ll be fine. You’ll grow a 3rd ball but you’ll be fine. Heal up.”
Hart has long been a proponent of serious exercise. He told Men’s Health in 2020 that “the first priority is finding a gym” when he travels. Not even three spinal fractures from a 2019 car accident stopped Hart from forging ahead with his regimen after recovering.
According to the Harvard Medical School, mild muscle tears heal by themselves within weeks. Grade II strains can take two to three months, however, while the most serious tears require surgery and several more months of physical rehabilitation to heal.
While he joked about his abdomen and abductors by saying he doesn’t “even know what that is,” Hart appeared solemn about his injuries.
“It is what it is, man,” he said. “This is life. I’m out. I got about six to eight. I blew my shit.”