Fans watching The Tonight Show on Sept. 19, 2018 learned something new about Kevin Hart — but it didn't have anything to do with his career. Instead, viewers learned that Hart is, like, very afraid of wildlife. The comedian co-hosted Jimmy Fallon's show on Wednesday night, which featured Robert Irwin and his *totally harmless* animal friends. For those of you unaware, Robert Irwin shares the same affinity for wildlife as his late father, Steve Irwin. However, I can't say the same about Hart. In fact, Kevin Hart getting scared by Robert Irwin's animals on The Tonight Show is priceless.
To be completely honest, "scared" isn't even the word to describe Hart's reactions to Irwin's animals. I'd say "terrified," or maybe even "petrified." I mean, I've seen a handful of The Tonight Show episodes that feature Irwin, and I've never seen a celebrity co-host so damn frightened by his wildlife guests. From the moment Irwin started introducing his four-legged friends, you could automatically see Hart growing more and more uncomfortable. Maybe I'm being too harsh, though — because the creatures Irwin brought onto the stage were definitely intimidating. Still, Hart's reactions to them are totally worth watching.
If you haven't seen the clip yet, take a breather and check it out below:
See?! Those animals were no joke! I don't blame Hart for running off the stage on the verge of tears. As someone with severe arachnophobia, I would have been out of there from the moment Irwin introduced his eight-legged buddy. I'm getting nervous just thinking about it.
If you don't have 15 minutes to stop what you're doing and watch the Tonight Show clip, I'll give you a quick rundown of the segment. At the beginning of the show, Irwin brought out a baby ostrich name Gizelle (which should have been the least of Hart's worries). She was cute, furry, and not too intimidating. After the baby ostrich's debut, Irwin introduced two black-and-white striped snakes named Lebron and Elvis. (Let's just say Hard wasn't a fan of those guys.)
Irwin's next animal guest was by far the creepiest of the segment, and Hart did not welcome her with open arms. (Again, as someone who doesn't like spiders, I wouldn't have either.) As you're probably assuming, Irwin brought out a tarantula named Big Red, and it was freaking terrifying. As soon as Irwin introduced her, Hart ran to the opposite side of the stage and asked Irwin to "stay right there."
He continued, "You better stay your ass over there, man."
At that point, there was no convincing Hart that he should hold onto Big Red. Instead, he urged Fallon to hold her (since it was his birthday, anyway). Of course, Fallon took the challenge, cupped his hands, and held the tarantula.
Let's just put it this way: Fallon's reaction to Big Red was calm, and Hart's reaction to Big Red was not. Regardless, Twitter totally loved it.
As you can see, the Twitterverse thoroughly enjoyed Hart's terrified reactions to Irwin's animals. However, the comedian didn't end the segment totally defeated. The last animal Irwin brought out was a falcon named Squire, and Hart ended up letting the bird sit on his arm. Sure, he looked nervous AF — but I'm still proud of him.
Still, I don't see Hart spending too much of his free time with animals in the near future.
