Kevin Hart Sued By Former Friend for $12 Million

Johnathan “J.T.” Jackson has filed a lawsuit against his former friend and employer, comedian Kevin Hart, for breach of contract. According to reports, Jackson is seeking $12 million in damages after Hart shared a video online to address his famous sex tape scandal.

In 2017, a video of Hart engaging in sexual activity with a model was leaked online. His wife, Eniko Parrish, was pregnant at the time, and there was reportedly an attempt to extort Hart out of $5 million in connection with the leak. The FBI got involved, and Jackson was initially thought to have be behind the embarrassing viral moment. He was charged with attempted extortion, attempted concealing and selling of stolen property, unauthorized use of a personal I.D. and identity theft. However, the charges against Jackson were ultimately dropped.

Fast-forward to 2021, Jackson and Hart entered into a settlement agreement that contractually obligated Hart to publicly exonerate Jackson. Hart allegedly agreed to use very specific language in addressing the situation, including the fact that the scandal cost him “a valuable friendship” with Jackson. However, Jackson claims that Hart breached this agreement by not using the agreed upon language.

According to the lawsuit, “The wording of Hart’s statement, meticulously negotiated and detailed in the contract, was crucial to repairing and remediating the severe damage inflicted upon plaintiff’s reputation by the baseless extortion allegations that Hart aggressively promoted and publicized.”

In the court documents Jackson also explains that “… it’s been three years since Kevin promised to help clear my name, to no avail. So here we are. Through this lawsuit, I aim to restore my reputation, seek accountability, and ensure that such injustices do not happen to others.” 

In addition to breach of contract, Jackson is suing for fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.