Kevin Hart is contesting allegations of leaking his own sex tape, which became the centerpiece of an extortion attempt against the famed comedian.
Montia Sabbag, the woman in the sex tape, has sued Hart, a member of his entourage named J.T. Jackson, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and a website called Fameoulous for $60 million. Jackson has been charged with attempted extortion and extortion by threatening letter for his alleged blackmailing of Hart, but Sabbag believes the two were in cahoots.
Sabbag is accusing Hart and Jackson of arranging a sex tape scandal to boost the comic’s career. She claims Hart allowed Jackson into his Cosmopolitan hotel suite to set up hidden recording devices and film the sexual encounter.
An unnamed source in Hart’s camp told The Blast the allegation was “ridiculous and wrong” since his career was already flourishing in 2017 when the sex tape surfaced. The source also debunked the notion of it being a stunt by pointing out how Hart went through the embarrassment of publicly apologizing to his wife and kids for his infidelity.
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Sabbag’s lawsuit is seeking damages for negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to both extortion charges in the criminal case against him.
[This post has been updated. The following was originally published by Danielle Harling on September 19, 2017.]
A woman who was photographed with Kevin Hart earlier this summer wants no part of the actor/comedian’s drama. According to TMZ, singer Monique “Momo” Gonzalez wants to make it clear she isn’t the woman Hart was allegedly cheating with in the recently surfaced video.
The woman in the tape is Montia Sabbag, who says she’s not the one who filmed the encounter. She also denied reports that she’s a “traveling stripper” and seeking $420,000 from Hart.
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“Montia and I are not asking for a cent from Kevin Hart,” Sabbag’s lawyer Lisa Bloom said at a press conference. “This is not about money. We are not suing him. We are not making any claims against him. Any reports to the contrary are false. Kevin Hart appears to be the victim of this criminal, just as Montia is a victim of this criminal.”
Meanwhile, Gonzalez, who has a hefty following on social media, has been bombarded with scathing comments following the release of the sex tape.
In July, Hart and Gonzalez were photographed together in a parked car outside of a Miami hotel, but a rep for Gonzalez claims it was nothing more than a friendly conversation.
Shortly after TMZ shared the photo, Hart laughed it off on social media with a meme that read, “At the end of the day you just gotta laugh at the BS.”
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Following the latest batch of allegations, he posted a video to Instagram on Saturday (September 16) apologizing to his pregnant wife and children for his mistakes.
“And doing that, I know that I’m gonna hurt the people closest to me, who I’ve talked to and apologized to, my wife and my kids,” Hart said. It’s a shitty moment. It’s a shitty moment when you know you’re wrong and there’s no excuses for your wrong behavior.”
Authorities involved in the matter are trying to decode encrypted emails sent from the extortionist, who is reportedly attempting to blackmail Hart for $10 million.
