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Kevin Hart’s World Cup Draw Hosting Faces Swift Online Backlash

The Kennedy Center ceremony set the groups for the expanded 48-team tournament across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Overview

  • Kevin Hart and Heidi Klum co-hosted the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at Washington’s Kennedy Center as the event finalized the group stage for the expanded field.
  • Viewers on X criticized Hart’s performance as awkward and “cringe,” questioning the choice of celebrity hosts for a flagship football ceremony.
  • Hart’s attempts to hype the room and jokes about saying “soccer” versus “football,” along with name-drop comparisons, were widely reported as falling flat.
  • A moment in which FIFA president Gianni Infantino greeted Klum first, saying “ladies first,” before Hart drew attention as an awkward onstage exchange.
  • Social media fixated on the height contrast between Hart and Klum, fueling a wave of memes that overshadowed the broadcast tone.