Actor/Comedian Kevin Hart is hitting back legally after a damaging interview with his former personal assistant was released last month.
Hart has filed a lawsuit against YouTube personality Tasha K, whose real name is LaTasha Kebe, and his ex-personal assistant Miesha Shakes for a highly inflammatory interview the two did. Hart, 44, is claiming that Tasha K attempted to extort money from him in exchange for not releasing the potentially damaging video of the interview.
Court documents obtained by Page Six show Hart is suing Tasha K for extortion and invasion of privacy after someone from her team allegedly threatened to drop the inflammatory interview with Shakes for “a ransom of $250,000.” The individual also allegedly warned Hart that the interview would be “damaging to [his] reputation.”
In clips shared on the vlogger’s Instagram Page Dec. 27, Shakes sat down with Tasha for an interview on Unwine With Tasha K and accused Hart of cheating on his wife, Eniko Hart, with a flight attendant and several other women. The former assistant also said comedian had a “gambling problem” and that he engineered an “extortion plot” against his former best friend, JT Jackson.
When Tasha asked Shakes why she was ready to come forward with her allegations about the stand-up comic, the Hollywood insider said, “It’s time for Hollywood to hear this story, especially because a lot of people are locked in nondisclosure, and they’re not able to talk and protect themselves. But you have to protect the person you’re working for. Where’s your protection?”
After he received the ransom note, Hart and his team allegedly contacted the police and sent Tasha a cease and desist letter, noting how Shakes had previously signed a nondisclosure agreement and confidentiality agreement while working for the actor between 2017 and 2020. Hart warned Tasha that releasing the interview “would constitute intentional interference with contractual relations,” according to People. Still, Tasha posted her salacious “tell-all” with Shakes on Dec. 22 via her website, according to the lawsuit.
The actor claimed that Shakes made “false and defamatory statements” about “legal disputes in which he had been involved.” Now, the comedian is suing both women for civil extortion and invasion of privacy. The Night School star is also suing Shakes for breach of contract and defamation and Tasha for intentional interference with contractual relations.
“Kebe has an established history of posting defamatory and otherwise improper content regarding celebrities,” Hart penned in his complaint.
Tasha’s shocking interview with Shakes comes one month after her viral interview with Brother Bilal, an alleged former assistant of Will Smith. In November, the controversial media personality sat down for an interview with Bilal, in which he alleged that he caught Smith having sex with Hollywood veteran Duane Martin years ago. Reps for the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star have vehemently denied the allegations.
The vlogger is still battling it out in court with Cardi B over punitive damages connected to the 2022 defamation lawsuit she lost against the rapper. Tasha will head to court on Jan. 9 for a pre-trial summary conference to dispute whether she still owes Cardi $500,000 in punitive damages.