Kevin Hart and Katt Williams have spent years turning their public tension into one of comedy’s most talked-about rivalries, but Sunday night’s “The Roast of Kevin Hart” changed the energy in a big way.

The live Netflix special streamed from the Kia Forum in Inglewood as part of Netflix Is a Joke Fest, and when Williams walked out as a surprise guest, the crowd got something bigger than a punchline: a truce. 

Williams did not ease in quietly. He joked, “I’m surprised they invited me. That’s how little star power you have. They had to start inviting your enemies. I said, ‘I hate him.’ They said, ‘Come anyway.'” 

Williams went on, “Very humble of me to be at your GOAT roast tonight. Kevin, I’ve won an Emmy Award, but this is going to be my best acting tonight as I pretend like you are a GOAT for the people at home. You’re wondering, why is the Katt man doing this for the money? Bitch, this is my Riyadh Comedy Festival, only one with a soul.” In 2025, Hart and other comedians came under fire for performing in Saudi Arabia at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. 

“For those of you just joining us, Kevin and I have beef, and I’ll tell you why. Because, privately, this motherfucker stole everything from me. Before he saw my act, he was a 6-foot man. I tried to tell y’all that Kevin Hart was a plant, because I keep burying him. He keeps springing back the fuck up, just like a plant.”

He continued, “Yes, I said some things I’d like to take back, some things I said were misunderstood. I did say that he was a Hollywood puppet, and I want to explain that because it might not be what you think. I meant that the head of Netflix literally has his whole hand up Kevin’s ass and can make him do anything.” 

Hart responded to Williams  with something that felt far less like a roast, “Me and this man have been at odds for years on years,” he said, before offering Williams “an olive branch of peace” and asking, “Can we move on?” Hart shared that he watches Williams as a “fan” and wants to be his “brother” and “friend.”

By the end of the moment, Hart made the message even clearer: “It’s not good for people to see two Black men fighting,” he said. “So Katt — it’s over.” He later added, “Katt and I are friends from today moving forward.” 

And just as quickly as Hart claimed to want to move on from his beef with Williams, he jokingly reignited said beef. Hart said, “Everybody has said tonight that I can’t act. ‘’Kevin cannot act.’ What I want you to do is go back and look at that moment where I shook Katt’s hand, and I looked him in the eye, and I said, ‘I just want us to be friends.’ Some of the best fucking acting that I’ve ever did in my career. I did not mean one word of what I said. Fuck Katt Williams! Fuck Katt Williams!”

The comedy greats’ feud has gone on for more than two decades and has been fueled by accusations about stolen roles, industry politics, and creative theft. After the smoke from the roast clears, here’s hoping the two comedic giants are indeed beefless.

The roast featured appearances from names like Dwayne Johnson, Tom Brady, Lizzo, Pete Davidson, Chelsea Handler, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and the Williams sisters.