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Vulture Festival Presents: Comedy Night

Source: Bryan Bedder / Getty

Comedian and Rel co-creator and executive producer Kevin Barnett died while away on vacation in Mexico according to still-developing reports. The cause of Barnett’s death is not known and it appears to have been sudden.

Deadline reports:

Barnett, a rising comic in New York City, recently co-created and executive produced fellow comedians Lil Rel Howery and Josh Rabinowitz Rel, the freshman Fox/20th TV comedy series starring Howery.

“Our hearts are broken, as are those of everyone at Rel, at the news of Kevin Barnett’s passing. He was an incredibly funny, wildly talented man who had so much more to do and so many more stories to tell. We send our thoughts and prayers to his friends and family during this difficult time,” 20th TV and Fox Entertainment said in a statement.

With Robinowitz, Barnett previously wrote a comedy project for NBC as a starring vehicle for the duo, who previously served as executive producers, head writers, and cast members of TruTV’s sketch series Friends of the People. The two also worked together as writers/consulting producers on the NBC/20th TV comedy series The Carmichael Show.

Barnett previously was a series regular on MTV2’s Guy Code, a writer for Comedy Central’s Broad City, Fox’s Unhitched, The Eric Andre Show Show (Adult Swim) and the animated Lucas Bros Moving Co. (Fox). He also made appearances on Adam Devine’s House Party as well as in Funny As Hell (HBO) and Top Five (written and directed by Chris Rock).

Kevin Barnett was 32.

Photo: Getty