The comedian Kevin Hart filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the controversial YouTuber LaTasha Kebe and his ex-assistant, alleging the two combined to try and extort him out of $250,000 as a “ransom” payment to not air an unsavory interview about his personal life.
The lawsuit, obtained by The Daily Beast, alleges that Kebe, who goes by Tasha K online, reached out to Hart and demanded the six-figure payday or else she’d air the “damaging” interview about his personal life she conducted with his former assistant, Miesha Shakes, who was also named as a defendant.
Hart’s lawsuit alleges that the interview, which was uploaded to Kebe’s website last week, made “false and defamatory statements regarding” Hart’s personal relationships and “certain legal disputes” he was a part of.
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Hart alleges that an affiliate of Kebe reached out to him in November—right after the interview itself was conducted—and the YouTuber threatened to hurt Hart’s reputation with the interview unless he paid a ransom.
The lawsuit says Hart refused to pay up, however, which led to Kebe uploading a since-deleted “teaser” video of the interview to to her YouTube channel and her more than one million subscribers on Nov. 17—a move that Hart’s lawsuit claims was a veiled threat against him.
“The teaser included a statement from Kebe at the 2:06 mark of the video specifically warning that ‘when you don’t pay, we have to get money by any means necessary,’” the lawsuit said.
In the full interview, which remained available on Kebe’s website behind a $12-a-month paywall as of Wednesday afternoon, Shakes acknowledged that she’d signed a pair of agreements with Hart, the lawsuit said. However, she claimed her NDA had unspecified “loopholes” that allowed her to speak about her former boss, Hart’s lawsuit said.
Hart’s lawsuit alleges there was no loophole that allowed Shakes to speak about Hart’s personal life, adding that she will not be able to “escape the consequences of her brazenly violating her promises.”
The title of Kebe’s interview on her website reads, “Kevin Harts Personal Assistant Tells All! | Gambling Addict, Habitual Cheater, Paying Millions to a Man to Take DUI Charges for Him, & Framing Best Friend of 30 years in FAKE EXTORTION PLOT!”
The lawsuit says Hart is seeking damages from both women for extorting him and invading his privacy. He’s also suing Shakes individually for breach of contract and defamation, and Kebe for intentional interference with contractual relations.
“Shakes’ actions in publishing defamatory statements regarding Hart were done with oppression,” the lawsuit read, adding that the interview contained “despicable conduct that subjected Hart to unjust hardship in conscious disregard of his rights.”
Representatives for Hart did not return a request for comment. Kebe and Shakes could not be reached.
Hart’s lawsuit made note of Kebe’s history of spreading gossip about celebrities, including an instance last year where she was ordered to fork over $3 million to the musician Cardi B for defaming her with a series of unsavory claims about her personal life.
