A ‘D-list celebrity’ father who became famous for his breakdancing career which he began later in life has hit back at this TikTokker daughter who accused him of ‘abandoning’ their family in order to pursue his hobby.
In a lighthearted video posted last week, Madi Hart aired out her ‘funny trauma’ and claimed her father Ben Hart, stage name Beni-Hana, left his family and became a breakdancer at the age of 60.
The California-based comedian, who has more than 67,000 followers on the platform, said that her dad ‘got really good’ at the artform and his career ‘blew up as he became the oldest performing breakdancer in the world.
But she is seemingly disappointed in her father, claiming he ‘left his wife and four kids’ and did not pursue joint-custody or ‘pay my medical bills growing up.’
In a similarly light-hearted video, Ben shot back at his daughter, claiming her allegations that he didn’t pay her medical bills are simply untrue and that he paid a around $5 million total to his ex-wife for child support and alimony for their four children.
Ben makes it clear that he didn’t make his money through his dancing skills but through ad copy writing business.
California-based comedian Madi Hart aired out her ‘funny trauma’ in a TikTok video where she claims her father Ben Hart, stage name Beni-Hana, ‘abandoned’ his family to become a breakdancer at the age of 60
Ben Hart pictured while smiling and rewatching his daughter’s video about ‘abandonment’
Madi prompted her followers to share with her a ‘piece of trauma that you have that’s funny’.
Starting the conversation off, the comedian, who reportedly studied theatre at university, decided to share a story from her childhood.
‘My dad abandoned my family when I was five years old – that is a wife and four kids – he abandoned us and then pursued amateur breakdancing,’ she told her followers.
‘And he got really good, he like blew up. He became a D-list celebrity status viral breakdancer. He became the oldest actively competing breakdancer in the world.’
She shared footage of Ben appearing on Good Morning America and danced along to the hip-hop song used in his choreography.
‘This guy wouldn’t pay my medical bills,’ she said, slapping her hands to emphasis her point. ‘The worst part, d**n it he’s good. He should not be able to move his body like that, it’s like impossible, it’s beautiful.’
She said that ‘there was no split custody’ growing up and reiterated again that her father allegedly ‘just left’ their family.
Hart made light of his daughter’s video, smiling while re-watching and discussing how proud he is of all of his children.
He attributes Hart’s misunderstanding about being ‘abandoned’ to her being so young when her parents split and not understanding what was happening.
‘I can see as a five-year-old, Madi would see her dad as having abandoned the family. One day I was living there, the next day I wasn’t. And that will look like abandonment to a child,’ he said.
Ben added that was living around a mile away during his children’s youth in Illinois. ‘We just weren’t living under the same roof.’
Madi jokes in her video that ‘he may not have paid for some of my medical bills, but he did give me this breakdancing merchandise’ and pointed to the t-shirt she was wearing which featured a photo of Ben dancing on his head.
She claimed that Ben does try to contact her sometimes and shared a pictured of a text he allegedly sent her that reads, ‘I lost track of the date. Happy birthday? I hope you’re doing well.’
In another message he allegedly sent her a link to one of his breakdancing videos.
Ben then goes into figures and says at the time of the divorce, he paid his wife $2 million upfront, followed by $18,000 per month in addition to medical insurance and paying into a $600,000 college fund.
‘Now, of course there is no way to know how much I was paying because she was a kid. This wasn’t something that I talked about… I saw the kids all the time, no abandonment, just a divorce.’
Ben goes on to say that he was about 70 percent responsible for the divorce but that ultimately he was not compatible with his former wife. He states that he does not regret the marriage and he loves his children.
Later in the clip, Ben treats his viewers to a demonstration of his breakdancing skills. Among those who responded to Ben’s video was X owner Elon Musk.
‘You are awesome,’ the South African billionaire wrote.
‘Thank you Elon. I’m a yuge fan of you. Tesla and Bitcoin are my two biggest investments,’ Ben responded.
Ben Hart (pictured breakdancing) became the ‘oldest actively performing breakdancer in the world’, appeared on several talk shows and even performed with Paula Abdul, Madi claimed
DailyMail.com was unable to independently verify Madi’s allegations against Ben, but the pair appear to have maintained a cordial relationship. Madi and Ben are pictured together at her graduation ceremony at Northwestern University
Ben’s Facebook page features several photos of him with his children, including Madi. He is pictured at dinner with his children in August 2021
Ben’s Facebook page features several photos of him with his children, including Madi. The pair have shared meals together over the years and he even attended her graduation ceremony at Northwestern University.
Most recently, in June last year, Ben made a post congratulating Madi on landing a job at a popular streaming platform.
He wrote: ‘Madi and I are not in alignment on many political issue. But we have good discussions. We get along great and I’m super proud of her.
‘She’s picked a tough industry to try to make it in – Hollywood and entertainment. But she’s a worker, a fighter, super creative, and very smart. So I’m sure she’ll make it.’
Madi, in her caption on the TikTok video, told her followers, ‘plz dont bully him btw u just have to laugh!!’
A November 2018 Wall Street Journal feature on Ben’s breakdancing begins with the words: ‘His four children think he’s embarrassing. His wife worries he’ll get hurt. But 60-year-old Ben Hart is addicted to breakdancing.’
DailyMail.com has approached both Ben, via Facebook, and Madi, via Instagram, for comment.