Why did Kevin Hart's friend sue him for 12 million dollars?
Problems for Kevin Hart, who is facing a million-dollar lawsuit for allegedly violating an agreement with his (former) friend Jonathan 'JT' Jackson. What was it about?
TMZ had access to the court documents and cited the complaint that Hart allegedly made unfounded accusations about his friend's participation in the recording and dissemination of a sensitive video from 2017.
To better understand the case, you have to travel back in time to 2017 when Kevin Hart appeared in that video in a hotel room with a woman engaging in intimate acts. And she was not his wife...
The woman in the video was model Montia Sabbag. She claimed that Kevin Hart and JT Jackson had hidden cameras in the hotel room when they were together. She even sued the duo, without success, for the scandal that followed.
According to the media at the time, these cameras were installed by JT Jackson. They also insinuated he was involved in a plot to blackmail Kevin Hart with the sensitive tape. Police even came after Jackson and his wife because of the accusations, he relates in his court case.
Image: jtactionjackson, Jonathan Jackson / Instagram
After the scandal, Hart and Jackson made an agreement that Hart would publicly apologize for the whole affair and help Jackson clean up his image. Jackson's legal team says that they reached the deal in 2021.
Hart was supposed to clarify that Jackson had nothing to do with the plot to install hidden cameras and disseminate a video. According to the suit, the two friends had even written down "specific verbiage" for Hart to use so he could "publicly exonerate" Jackson.
TMZ cites JT Jackson in stating that Kevin promised to help him clear his name three years ago and that it never happened. As the LA Times cites from the records, Jackson entered into the contract in 2021 "with the expectation that it would finally restore his reputation and allow Plaintiff to resume his professional life with integrity."
According to the suit, cited by the LA Times, Hart was supposed to say that he had "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 JT Jackson have been dropped and he is not guilty and had nothing to do with it and this matter at hand that once was so tough to deal with and so heavy for me and my household is now put to bed." However, the suit claims, Hart didn't use the right words for his public apology.
Now, JT Jackson demands no less than twelve million dollars for damages and breach of contract.
The goal of the lawsuit, in Jackson's words, is to restore his reputation, seek accountability, and ensure that such injustices do not happen to others.
Previously, Montia Sabbag had sued Hart for $60 million after the video with her in it was leaked on the Internet. She accused him of having suffered emotional distress and invasion of her privacy due to the circulation of the video. However, the case was dismissed.