Kevin Hart Extortion War: Blogger Tasha K's Company Denies Defaming Comedian as Court Battle Heats Up
Feb. 7 2024, Published 4:07 p.m. ET
Blogger Tasha K's company denied the claim it attempted to shakedown Kevin Hart for $250k before publishing an interview with the comedian's ex-assistant Miesha Shakes.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Yelen Entertainment, the company run by the YouTuber's husband and responsible for the content the blogger publishes, asked that Hart's suit be dismissed.
Last year, Hart sued Tasha, Yelen, and his ex-assistant Miesha Shakes. He claimed Tasha interviewed Shakes – who he said made several false claims about him.
He said before she posted the interview online, Tasha had an associate reach out to his team. He said the associate said the interview would not be posted IF Hart coughed up $250k.
Hart said he refused to play ball. Instead, he called the police. His legal team then fired off a cease and desist to Tasha K warning her not to publish the interview. They told her the interview was a breach of Shakes’ non-disclosure agreement with him.
The comedian said Tasha published the video despite his legal letter. He demanded unspecified damages for the harm to his reputation and the alleged civil extortion.
A couple of weeks after filing the suit, Hart asked the court to grant him a restraining order and injunction against Yelen – while his lawsuit continued to play out in court — that would force Tasha to remove the video.
He told the court, “Working in the entertainment industry, my livelihood depends in large part on my reputation and the public’s perception of me. That perception is of particular concern in light of the fact that I am involved in a number of family-oriented projects, such as the Jumanji franchise, Fatherhood, Captain Underpants, the Secret Life of Pets, and others.”
The judge shut down Hart’s plea but allowed his case to move forward.
Now, Yelen Entertainment asked that the entire lawsuit be dismissed. Tasha has yet to respond to the suit personally.
In Yelen’s response, the company argued Hart failed to plea specifically which statements they “contend are false and defamatory or which facts they contend are true and an invasion of privacy.”
Further, Yelen said, “[Hart’s] claims are barred in whole or in part because the statements challenged as false and defamatory, to the extent they can be determined, are substantially true.”
The company said the statements made were either not defamatory or an opinion.
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In addition, “[Hart’s claims are barred in whole or in part because the statements challenged as an invasion of privacy, to the extent they can be determined, relate to matters of public concern.”
Yelen denied Hart had suffered any damages as a result of any action by Yelen.
The company demanded all claims against Yelen be dismissed and Hart be ordered to cover its legal bills.
As RadarOnline.com first reported, Tasha was ordered to pay Cardi B a total of $4 million after the rapper successfully sued her for defamation.
The blogger filed for bankruptcy after Cardi started seizing her assets to collect on the judgment. The Chapter 11 case has yet to be resolved.
