Kevin Hart’s NDA Fight With His Ex-Assistant Could Bring His 2017 Sex Tape Scandal Back Into Court

Kevin Hart has spent years trying to put one of the most damaging chapters of his career behind him. In 2017, the comedian said he was the target of an extortion attempt involving a secretly recorded video from a Las Vegas hotel room, footage that was later partially released online.

Hart publicly apologized to his wife, Eniko, at the time, acknowledging he had made a serious error in judgment. The legal fallout lasted for years, but most of those cases have since ended.

Now, the scandal could resurface in a separate legal battle. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Hart’s former assistant, Miesha Shakes, wants Montia Sabbag, the woman involved in the 2017 controversy, to testify as a witness in her case against the comedian.

The current case was filed by Hart. He sued Shakes, claiming she breached a non-disclosure agreement by discussing his personal life in an interview with a blogger. Hart argues that Shakes damaged his reputation by publicly talking about private matters. Shakes is fighting back on several fronts.

She claims Hart failed to meet certain obligations under the agreement and argues that the NDA should therefore be considered void. Her filing also contends that Hart harmed his own reputation over the years, citing the 2017 scandal as one example.

Shakes says she wants to question Sabbag about what happened in 2017 and the investigation that followed. The aim appears to be supporting her argument that Hart’s public image was already affected before she ever spoke about him. According to the filings, Shakes also plans to take the stand herself as the case moves forward. It remains unclear whether a judge will allow Sabbag to be called as a witness.

This would not be Sabbag’s first time in court over the matter. In 2019, she filed a $60 million lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that she had been filmed without her knowledge or consent.

Her complaint also claimed the footage had been used to generate publicity for Hart’s ‘Irresponsible Tour’. Hart denied all allegations of wrongdoing, and the case was eventually dismissed.

The controversy has also produced a separate string of legal fights involving Hart’s former friend Jonathan “J.T.” Jackson. In 2018, Jackson was charged with 4 felony counts tied to the alleged extortion attempt, and those charges were later dropped.

The 2 men reached a settlement in 2021. In July 2024, Jackson filed a $12 million breach of contract lawsuit, claiming Hart had not cleared his name in the way their agreement required.

That case also went Hart’s way. Judge Daniel S. Murphy ruled that Jackson had forfeited his right to pursue the claim in arbitration, since their earlier settlement terms included no monetary compensation.

For now, the Shakes case is still unfolding, and no ruling has been reported on her request to involve Sabbag. Any decision could determine whether events from nearly a decade ago are aired in court again. Fans online were surprised to see the 2017 saga back in the headlines. For Hart, the case shows how hard it can be to fully close the door on an old scandal.

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