Kevin Hart remains optimistic about Hartbeat’s future.

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Hartbeat — a global, multiplatform entertainment company — was founded by Hart, who was appointed CEO in 2025. Hartbeat laid off nearly 25% of its workforce in November 2024 and an additional dozen employees in December 2025. This included Eric Eddings and Lesley Gwam, who had been with the company since 2023 and were to produce audio shows and other projects, as well as Hartbeat’s TV division heads, Tiffany Brown and Mike Stein, according to information from TMZ and Bloomberg.

“My executive team is still there. My team of creatives are still there. Did I reduce? Yes. My company was too f-cking big,” he said on “The Breakfast Club.” “I don’t need 80 people to operate how we’re operating now. Downsize. Save the money. Save the f-cking money. I got offices in New York, Atlanta. Why do I need all that? Why am I watching other businesses get smarter? Why is Netflix laying off people but Hartbeat’s f-cking maintaining the masses? Like it’s called operation operation cause. So when you’re thinking about a business, make the best decisions on behalf of the business.”

There was reportedly no official announcement regarding the recent job cuts, which also came just weeks before the formal announcement of Hart’s deal with Authentic Brands Group (ABG). As AFROTECH™ reported, ABG is a leading owner of sports, media, entertainment, and lifestyle intellectual property. Hart followed Shaquille O’Neal’s blueprint by entering into a strategic partnership with ABG and becoming a shareholder driven by a desire for the “Hart name to live on for generations to come.”

“Because people are looking for f-cking clickbait. They’re looking for clicks, man,” he said on the podcast. “So, OK, how can we take advantage of a narrative? ‘Facts in Kevin Hart’s business: Kevin Hart just did a big deal with Authentic Brands Group. In doing a big deal with Authentic Brands Group, Kevin downsized Hartbeat like the rest of the f-cking entertainment business.’ Reducing OpEx [operating expenditure], overhead expenses, means you cut back. Why? Because you want to keep your margins of plus, well, you want to keep them conservative. EBITDA is important. Making money in the business is important. A failing business is not well. Making sure that my business operates efficiently is what I did.”
He later added, “Champion, Reebok, there’s sh-t that we f-cking have underneath this capsule that’s growing, and you’re gonna look up in five years and you’re going to see Shaq, Kevin, and Beckham like d-mn man motherf-ckers these have been moving like this way for quite some time. They’re moving and operating at a scale. Everybody can’t understand that. You can’t see that.”

Hart also addressed concerns reported by Entrepreneur that some employees fear Hartbeat was nearing its end. He doubled down on “The Breakfast Club,” stating, “Hartbeat is never going anywhere.” The media company’s portfolio includes a series to find the next stand-up star called “Funny AF,” and “The Roast of Kevin Hart,” both available on Netflix, as well as the comedy film “72 Hours,” which will be released on the platform July 24.

He said he will never do a movie or project that requires “someone else to produce for me,” adding that projects will rely on creatives he deems to be “great underneath the Hartbeat umbrella.”