VIDEO: Kevin Hart Learned a Lot From His Dad, Including Not to Let Kids Drive Speedboats

Kevin Hart’s new book “I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons” is full of stories from his own life, including some jaw-dropping anecdotes about his own dad. The comedian described his father to Howard as having a “nonchalant attitude” when he was a kid.

“My dad had the ability to shrug responsibility,” Kevin said.

Kevin wasn’t kidding. He went on to tell several stories about times spent with dear old dad, including the day his dad let a then nine-year-old Kevin take the wheel of a rented speedboat.

“He let me drive a boat. Yeah, I crashed a boat,” Kevin said with a laugh. “The level of stupidity that my dad displayed this day was amazing.”

Kevin said the boat was on loan from one of his dad’s friends. They had spent the day out on the water and Kevin asked if he could drive as they were headed back to shore. He took the controls and floored it.

“My dad kept going ‘slow up’ and I don’t know how to slow up. Slow up? What kid do you know slows up? All we know is fast,” Kevin told Howard. Kevin never did “slow up” and he ended up crashing into a rocky shoreline, causing substantial damage to the vessel.

Kevin also remembered the time his mom signed him up for summer camp and asked his father to drive him there. Even though he was only a child, Kevin recalled how his dad relied on him for directions on how to get to camp and wound up taking him to the wrong location.

“My dad took me to the wrong camp and left me there,” Kevin told Howard. It took a few hours before camp counselors realized Kevin wasn’t registered and called his mom to come get him.

Even when his dad was trying to do something nice, he wouldn’t go about doing it in the best way. So was the case when he brought home a dog for Kevin and his brother.

“The dog was grown so me and my brother should have known that something was wrong,” the comedian told Howard, adding that rescue dogs weren’t a thing in those days. It turned out the dog belonged to a neighbor down the street. When the woman came to retrieve her dog, all it took was her calling its name and the dog coming to her to prove Kevin’s dad didn’t actually buy his kids their own dog.

Still, Kevin explained he holds no resentment towards his father, telling Howard, “No matter what, that’s my dad.”

“I chose to take a positive outlook on it,” Kevin continued. “You have to choose a road and I chose the high road.”

What’s more, the mistakes his father made have helped Kevin become a better dad to his own kids as he now understands the importance of being present in his children’s lives.

He told Howard he’s flying back to Los Angeles tomorrow to see his daughter graduate from the sixth grade. “I know the importance of her seeing my face on that day,” Kevin said.

His dad never apologized for the things he did, but Kevin told Howard he doesn’t need him to. “His actions now say, ‘I know how bad I messed up,'” he explained. “He’s completely sober now and, you know, he’s focusing on being an amazing grandfather.”

Kevin Hart’s new book “I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons” is available Tuesday. Click here to order now.