Calling her statements "substantially true," Kevin Hart's personal aide says in new court papers that she should be dismissed as a defendant in the comedian's lawsuit in which he alleges she defamed him in a December online interview.
The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit involves a social media conversation between Hart's ex-personal assistant, Miesha Shakes, and Latasha Kebe, who also is known as Tasha K.
In their court papers, the 44-year-old Hart's attorneys maintain their client and his company, K. Hart Enterprises Inc., have suffered "irreparable harm from the continued publication and broadcasting of the interview and related content, which includes defamatory statements, including false statements regarding Hart's supposed criminal conduct, which are damaging to his reputation and thereby to his livelihood as a performer."
But in her own court papers filed Thursday with Judge Holly J. Fujie, Shakes, representing herself, states that her statements were "substantially true," that they were expressions of her opinion and that the public's interest was served by their disclosure.
Although Hart's lawyers maintain that the comedian and Shakes had a non-disclosure agreement and that Shakes breached that accord, Shakes maintains that the contract took advantage of her mental state or incapacity "or by using threat or force."
In their court papers, Hart's lawyers maintain that Shakes and Kebe sought money in order to keep quiet.
"Defendants initially attempted to extort Hart into paying defendants a ransom to keep them from publishing the interview, which they threatened would include private and damaging information about plaintiffs," Hart's attorneys' court papers state. "When Hart declined to pay that ransom, defendants followed through on their threat and proceeded to publish the interview."
The pair's statements are "false and defamatory on their face" and the assertion that Hart faced criminal charges could easily have been disproved with "even minimal investigation," according to Hart's lawyers.
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Shakes worked for Hart's company from August 2017 to October 2020, the complaint filed Dec. 26 states.
Published on Kebe's Instagram account and YouTube channel Unwine with Tasha K on Dec. 22, the interview includes allegations from Shakes that Hart had an affair at his office. Shakes also said she told Hart's wife, Eniko, that he was being unfaithful.
The conversation interview had a preview that stated, "The interview that Kevin Hart will wish never came out," the suit states.
The interview is still viewable online. A case management conference is scheduled May 8.
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