Kevin Hart sued by former friend after sex tape scandal

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY

11 July 2024 at 10:51 am·4-min read

Kevin Hart is being sued for breach of contract by a man who says he was wrongfully accused of trying to extort the comedian in his 2017 sex tape scandal.

Jonathan T. Jackson, known professionally as J.T. Jackson, filed a lawsuit against Hart in Los Angeles on Wednesday, alleging the comedian violated a settlement agreement that required him to declare Jackson's innocence in the case, according to a copy of the complaint provided to USA TODAY.

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Hart for comment.

Kevin Hart attends the "Greatest Roast of All Time" on May 5, 2024.

In 2018, Jackson was charged with attempting to extort Hart by threatening to release a video of the "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" star with a woman who was not his wife in Las Vegas. The charges were later dropped. Jackson denies the "baseless" extortion allegations and says he had no involvement in the creation or dissemination of the tape.

By 2021, Jackson says he entered into a written settlement agreement with Hart, which required the comedian to make a public statement exonerating Jackson. The wording of Hart's statement was "meticulously negotiated and detailed" in their contract, and he was to say in an Instagram video that Jackson "is not guilty and had nothing to do with it."

'Lift' star Kevin Hart on 'bringing people together,' the change he wants to see in comedy

However, the lawsuit says that Hart "willfully deviated" from the agreed upon language in his October 2021 statement, in which he said simply that the charges against Jackson "have been dropped" and that "I'm happy that that chapter of my life is over," without stating that Jackson had nothing to do with trying to extort him.

Hart's message failed to achieve the intended goal of clearing Jackson's name and restoring his reputation, the lawsuit said.

"Hart's statement dilutes this intent by framing the exoneration more as a conclusion to a chapter in Hart's own life rather than a clear and unequivocal exoneration of Plaintiff," per the suit.

This constituted a "profound and egregious breach" of contract, the suit alleges. Jackson also says that since Hart's alleged contract breach, he has had "enormous difficulties in obtaining acting roles."

Kevin Hart accepts Mark Twain Prize for humor, says committing to comedy was a 'gamble'

Additionally, Jackson alleges Hart and his team "fabricated evidence and provided misleading statements" that led to his wrongful arrest. Even after the charges against him were dropped, Jackson alleges the emotional stress of the situation exacerbated his PTSD, tarnished his public image and resulted in lost job opportunities.

Jackson's "legal exoneration, a pivotal moment, could not erase the years of adversity, missed opportunities, and emotional anguish inflicted upon Plaintiff and his family," the lawsuit states. "Despite the courtroom victory, the shadow of unfounded allegations persisted, casting a long and enduring stain exacerbated by Hart's role in shaping public opinion through negative media portrayal."

Jackson, who also alleges fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress, is seeking damages exceeding $12 million.

What Kevin Hart said about former friend J.T. Jackson

Prior to the 2021 settlement agreement, Hart addressed his sex tape scandal in the 2019 documentary series "Kevin Hart: Don't F--- This Up." The lawsuit alleges this documentary, which detailed the allegations and charges against Jackson, further damaged his reputation and career, and it calls for the false statements about him to be removed.

In the third episode of the documentary, the "Central Intelligence" actor said he "still can't say" that Jackson "is guilty because it still hasn't been determined."

"It's one of those things where you don't know what to believe because it's so absurd that it's the last thing that you would think," he added.

After Jackson was charged in 2018, Hart posted on X, then Twitter, "Mind blown...Hurt...at a lost for words and simply in complete disbelief at the moment. WOW."

In his video from October 2021, Hart, addressing followers while driving, said that after charges against Jackson were dropped, he "can finally speak on" things he could not before while the legal process was ongoing. He proceeded to deliver a message about moving on from the case, without speaking on any of the specifics.

"I'm happy that we're able to put a period on that sentence, and I'm excited to get back to life as we once knew it," he said. "I want to get back to life as I once knew it and put that behind me and move on. This message is about moving on. It's over."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kevin Hart sued for breach of contract by ex-friend JT Jackson

The Daily Beast
Starving American Yoga Student Chained to Tree ‘For 40 Days’
An American woman who went to India a decade ago to study yoga and meditation has claimed she survived without food and water for 40 days after being shackled to a tree by her former husband.U.S. citizen Lalita Kayi Kumar, 50, was found starving and emaciated on Saturday by a local shepherd in a remote forest in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra about 25 miles from Goa, according to reports.The shepherd broke an iron chain that was used to secure her to the tree. Police said she was severel
The Independent
Suspect got away with Hawaii’s most famous cold-case murder for decades. A hospital bed sheet closed the case
Dana Ireland, a 23-year-old tourist from Virginia, was kidnapped, raped and left for dead in the Kapoho area of Hawaii on Christmas Eve 1991
The Independent
US woman found chained to tree and left to die in India jungle
Police file case of attempted murder against former husband of woman identified as Lalita Kayi Kumar
The Telegraph
Prison officer who had sex with inmate on video pleads guilty
A Brazilian OnlyFans star who was filmed having sex with an inmate in a jail cell tried to flee the UK before she was arrested at Heathrow airport, a court has heard.
KameraOne
Brave shop owner foils armed robber's gold heist
In a dramatic turn of events on July 14, a shop owner heroically foiled an armed robbery at his gold store in Phatthalung, Thailand. Security camera footage captured the thief pointing a gun at employees before smashing the glass display cases. But as terrified shoppers fled the store, owner Pathompong Kaoian decided to take matters into his own hands.
CNN
Man sentenced to 30 years to life in fatal stabbing of Christina Yuna Lee in her Manhattan apartment
A man was sentenced to 30 years to life in state prison Tuesday for fatally stabbing a 35-year-old woman inside her New York City apartment in 2022 after following her home, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
CNN
United Airlines says flight attendant in Terrell Davis incident is no longer employed and NFL legend’s ‘no fly’ ban is lifted
The flight attendant involved in an incident that led to Terrell Davis’ removal from a United Airlines plane in handcuffs “is no longer employed” and the NFL Hall of Famer’s “no fly” ban has been lifted, the airline told CNN Tuesday.
People
Father of Missing Calif. Girl Expressed Gratitude After She Was Found the Next Week. Why Is He Now Charged?
Jeffery Chao had said he appreciated everyone who helped find his 15-year-old daughter Alison
The Independent
Mom of three boys, missing since 2010 after visiting their now-jailed father, wants them declared legally dead
Declaring her children legally deceased will give Tanya Lynn Zuvers a degree of closure, and pave the way for her to settle assorted legal and financial issues.
LA Times
'Every parent's worst nightmare': Teen who was sexually assaulted by passenger sues Delta Air Lines
A 13-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted during a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Orlando is suing Delta Air Lines, claiming it was negligent for serving her attacker alcohol and failed to restrain him after he was found to be molesting the teen.
The Independent
Shocking moment LAPD cop punches a man in the face while his hands are cuffed
EXCLUSIVE DETAILS: “I’m confident, just based on the video, [that] this officer will definitely be criminally prosecuted, brought to justice, and relieved of duty,” family spokesman Najee Ali told The Independent.
The Independent
Dogs locked up in Bangkok house without food eat body of dead owner
Two dogs died from lack of food and water but 28 survived by ‘eating left leg of the owner’
Reuters
Exclusive-US Army stops paying soldier imprisoned in Russia, may prosecute him
The Army has stopped paying wages and allowances to a U.S. soldier sentenced last month to nearly four years in a Russian penal colony and may prosecute him if he returns to the United States, U.S. officials said. Gordon Black, a 34-year-old staff sergeant, was convicted in Russia of theft and threatening murder. He was also having an extramarital affair - prohibited in the U.S. military - with a Russian woman named Alexandra Vashchuk, who he met during a deployment in South Korea.
BBC
Former US officer behind My Lai massacre dead at 80
He was the only US soldier convicted for the massacre, in which hundreds of Vietnamese civilians were killed.
Associated Press
Israel-Hamas war latest: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran says
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said early Wednesday. No one immediately claimed responsibility but suspicion immediately fell on Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Haniyeh was in Tehran to attend Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday.
Associated Press
William Calley, who led the My Lai massacre that shamed US military in Vietnam, has died
William Laws Calley Jr., who as an Army lieutenant led the U.S. soldiers who killed hundreds of Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre, the most notorious war crime in modern American military history, has died. Calley died on April 28, according to his Florida death record, which said he had been living in an apartment in Gainesville. Calley had lived in obscurity in the decades since he was court-martialed and convicted in 1971, the only one of 25 men originally charged to be found guilty in the massacre that helped turn American opinion against the war in Vietnam.
People
Vt. Woman, 82, Who'd Gone Missing Was Allegedly Sexually Assaulted, Killed and Burned by Neighbor
What started as a search for missing grandmother Roberta Martin ended with the arrest of a man, 23, who is now accused of brutally murdering her, say police
The Telegraph
Microsoft plunges as Big Tech sell-off deepens
Microsoft shares have fallen heavily as the software giant reported disappointing results that deepened investors’ fears about the artificial intelligence boom.
South China Morning Post
Tech war: China eyes supercomputers for building LLMs amid US sanctions on advanced chips
China must find an alternative approach to artificial intelligence (AI) development, in lieu of stacking up processors inside data centres, as US sanctions continue to bar the country's access to advanced semiconductors and chip-making equipment, according to industry experts on the mainland. Leveraging supercomputing technology that China has developed over the past decade could help break the stranglehold of US-led restrictions on the mainland's AI industry, according to Zhang Yunquan, a resea
Reuters
Myanmar's junta terrorised a Rohingya Muslim town. Then rebels burned it down
(Reuters) -Saifur Rahman woke up to screams. The town of Buthidaung in Rakhine state, Myanmar's largest settlement of minority Rohingya, was on fire and under attack. “All I could see was fire,” said the 30-year-old Rohingya.

What Kevin Hart said about former friend J.T. Jackson

Latest stories