Kevin Hart vanished from his struggling namesake media company’s office for weeks at a time and left anxious employees to navigate layoffs, canceled meetings and mounting financial turmoil without him, according to a new report.
The comedian-turned-media mogul also changed his phone number in the wake of brutal job cuts that wiped out nearly a quarter of Hartbeat’s workforce, Bloomberg News reported.
News of Hart’s business struggles came as the movie star and standup comic was roasted by fellow celebs in a widely watched Netflix special on Sunday.
The chaos inside Hartbeat reportedly got so bad that some staffers feared a recent deal Hart struck with Authentic Brands Group — the licensing giant that manages the likenesses of stars including Marilyn Monroe and Shaquille O’Neal —- signaled the end for the once high-flying company. Hartbeat was hemorraghing cash at the time, according to Bloomberg.
The Post has sought comment from Hart and his company.
The star, who resumed his role as CEO in January 2025 after a series of executive departures, had vowed to unveil a strategy to steady the struggling business.
Instead, according to Bloomberg, he largely vanished from day-to-day operations while delegating control to longtime lieutenant Jeff Clanagan and CFO Eric Stoneburner.
The company’s operations suffered as staff meetings were scrapped, development of new movies and television projects slowed dramatically and podcast initiatives that were pitched internally never got off the ground, according to the report.
Hartbeat’s turmoil culminated in waves of layoffs. Days before Thanksgiving, it fired about 20 out of roughly 80 employees, according to Bloomberg.
The company later cut additional workers tied to podcasting and scripted television, including executives involved with a “Barbershop” TV adaptation for Amazon and a second season of the animated series “Lil Kev.”
Following one round of layoffs, executives convened a Zoom meeting with employees.
Hart reportedly remained off-camera until it was time for him to speak briefly about the restructuring before ending the meeting without taking questions.
In the weeks afterward, Hart changed his phone number, according to Bloomberg, which reported that advisers had long encouraged him to make himself less accessible.
The company had once been positioned as the next big celebrity-backed media empire during Hollywood’s streaming boom.
Hart merged his production company with digital comedy brand Laugh Out Loud in 2022 and sold a 15% stake to private equity firm Abry Partners in a deal valuing Hartbeat at roughly $650 million.
The business was built around film and television production, short-form digital video and branded advertising.
Hartbeat secured partnerships with Netflix, SiriusXM and Audible while also working with advertisers including Lyft, Procter & Gamble and DraftKings.
During the expansion spree, Hartbeat moved into Oprah Winfrey’s former 40,000-square-foot West Hollywood office space, according to Bloomberg.
Hart reportedly outfitted the headquarters with expensive artwork and luxury furnishings, including works by prominent African artists and a high-end designer desk in his personal office suite.
But as the streaming boom fizzled and media companies slashed spending, Hartbeat’s ambitions began to collapse.
The company shuttered its New York office while executives pushed Hart to scale back the sprawling business, according to Bloomberg.
Instead, tensions inside the company intensified.
Former CEO Thai Randolph departed in late 2023 and was replaced by veteran Warner Bros. Discovery executive Jay Levine.
Levine lasted less than a year before negotiating his exit. Hartbeat’s chief financial officer and chief content officer soon followed him out the door.
Hart’s separate deal with Authentic Brands earlier this year only deepened anxiety inside the company.
According to Bloomberg, the arrangement allowed Hart to gradually buy out Abry Partners and regain control over his name, image and likeness rights while shifting endorsement business away from Hartbeat.
Some Hartbeat employees reportedly interpreted the deal as a sign the comedian was distancing himself from the company that bears his name.
In a message to employees cited by Bloomberg, Hart acknowledged the turmoil.
“I know the past few months have been tough,” Hart wrote in an email reportedly signed “Kevin AKA Boss Man.”
Still, he sought to project confidence in a recent uproarious interview with comedian Ziwe Fumudoh.
“What we do very well at Hartbeat studio that I oversee as chairman and CEO is not just highlight women of color, but we try to remove the stigma,” Hart boasted. “That’s what we do as a business.”
