Kevin Hart is the subject of a new lawsuit filed by former friend Jonathan “J.T.” Jackson, who claims the comedian broke an agreement between the two during the aftermath of his alleged 2017 sex tape scandal.
Jackson is seeking $12 million in the breach of contract lawsuit that he filed in Los Angeles after he claims that a social media post shared by Hart on October 27, 2021, did not follow a “meticulously negotiated” plan to clear Jackson’s name in the scandal and felony extortion case that followed the 2017 sex tape scandal, Rolling Stone reported.
According to Jackson, Hart was “contractually obligated to use specific verbiage that would publicly exonerate” him. The video was to include that Jackson, who had a small role in Think Like a Man Too, starring Hart, Gabrielle Union, Terrence J., Regina Hall, and more, was “fully cleared of any involvement in an extortion plot and that the scandal had cost Hart a valuable friendship.”
In the lawsuit, it reports that Hart agreed to say, “I
lost someone close to me that I loved and still have very much love for, or high levels of love for, and I’m proud to say that all charges against J.T. Jackson have been dropped, and he is not guilty and had nothing to do with it.”Instead, Jackson alleges that Hart “blatantly broke” their agreement. In the 2017 Instagram video, Hart said the following – “J.T. Jackson has recently been found not guilty, and those charges have been dropped against him, and I can finally speak on what I once couldn’t.”
Additionally, he shared that their friendship was “lost,” but his words were nowhere near the alleged agreement that Jackson says Hart broke.
“It’s over, and I’m happy that it’s over,” said Hart. He also omitted the line that Jackson and Hart reportedly agreed to include and that was that Jackson “had nothing to do with it.”
“The wording of Hart’s statement, meticulously negotiated and detailed in the contract, was crucial to repairing and remediating the severe damage inflicted upon the plaintiff’s reputation by the baseless extortion allegations that Hart aggressively promoted and publicized,” said Jackson in the newly filed lawsuit.
While Hart seemingly was able to move on from the situation, Jackson says he suffered emotional distress in the years to follow. Per the suit, he claims that Hart and his lawyers played a key role in his 2018 arrest when law enforcement officers kicked in his door and raided his home with guns drawn.
It all allegedly started with an August 2017 trip to Vegas. At the time, Hart and Jackson took a voyage to the place dubbed “Sin City,” and just a few weeks later, Hart’s wife, Eniko Parrish, who was pregnant at the time, received an anonymous message claiming that her husband was cheating on her. Linked in the note was allegedly a Dropbox link to the controversial sex tape, which was reportedly recorded from Hart’s private suite at the Cosmopolitan hotel. In the clip, the Ride Along comedian is allegedly seen engaging in intercourse with a woman, later identified as model Montia Sabbag.
Now, Jackson says that the 2017 sex tape scandal and the events to follow caused him to suffer “profound harm” and emotional distress, specifically in the failed extortion prosecution brought forth against him. Additionally, he cites Hart’s Netflix Don’t F**k This Up docuseries as a constant reminder of what happened to him. During an episode of the project, Hart said that the controversial incident that led to the demise of their friendship was “tough to talk about.” The show is still available for streaming today.
“The persistent availability of this content continues to perpetuate the false narrative, causing ongoing harm to plaintiff’s professional and personal life,” said the court filings.
As a Navy veteran, Jackson claims that “the fallout has exacerbated his service-related PTSD and caused significant mental health struggles.”
“This entire ordeal has caused profound emotional distress and significant professional setbacks for both my wife and me. It’s extremely unfortunate that someone I considered my brother, my pots and pans for 16 years, we are now on opposite sides of the fence,” said Jackson in a statement sent to Rolling Stone
. “Despite everything, I still wish him well. But 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.”At this time, Jackson is suing both Hart and his Hartbeat Productions company for “breach of written contract, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.” In addition to the $12 million in real damages he’s seeking, Jackson is also looking to receive “punitive damages to be determined at trial.”
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