Kevin Hart is being sued by the woman at the center of an alleged sex extortion scandal that occurred in 2017.
Montia Sabbag is suing the comedian, 40, for $60 million in damages for alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and invasion of privacy, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
In 2017, Hart shared a video on Instagram claiming someone was trying to extort him over a sexually suggestive video involving him and Sabbag in a hotel room in Las Vegas. Hart’s former friend Jonathan Todd Jackson was arrested and charged with extortion, but has denied ever extorting Hart.
In the court documents, Sabbag claims Hart in fact knew of the secret video camera within the hotel room and allowed Jackson access to the room so they could tape her in secret.
An attorney for Hart did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Sabbag alleges the incident was to help “promote [Hart’s] Irresponsible Tour, which was a record-breaking comedy and to increase his overall pop culture status,” according to the documents.
She is also demanding a trial by jury.
In 2017, Hart apologized to his then-pregnant wife, Eniko Parrish, and his two children on social media, where he asserted Jackson was trying to extort him. The FBI was reportedly investigating the alleged extortion attempt.
“I’m guilty [of infidelity], regardless of how it happened and what was involved, the s– that I can’t talk about, I’m guilty. I’m wrong,” Hart said in an interview with the Power 105.1 FM show The Breakfast Club in December 2017. “It’s beyond irresponsible. There’s no way around it. That’s Kevin Hart in his dumbest moment. That’s not the finest hour of my life. With that being said, you make your bed you lay in it.”
In September 2017, Sabbag came forward at a press conference, identifying herself as the woman involved with Hart in the recording and saying, “I am not an extortionist. I had nothing to do with these recordings.”
Hart is currently recovering from a car crash that left him with “major back injuries” when his Plymouth Barracuda veered off the road and landed in a ditch earlier this month.
The actor was discharged from the hospital last week after undergoing surgery and is recovering from his injuries in a rehabilitation facility, a source told PEOPLE.
Source People
