Kevin Hart recently laughed off reports he cheated on his wife, Eniko Parrish, but now he is embroiled in a sexually suggestive scandal that is not a laughing matter. Apparently, an extortionist has been blackmailing Hart for millions of dollars over a videotape that reportedly shows him in a compromising position. In response, the 36-year-old comedian hopped on social media to post a remorseful message explaining his regrets. In Hart's message, he said,
I'm at a place in my life where I feel like I have a target on my back, and because of that, I should make smart decisions. And recently, I didn't. You know, I'm not perfect. I'm not going to sit up here and say that I am or claim to be in any way shape or form. And I made a bad error in judgment, and I put myself in a bad environment where only bad things can happen, and they did. And in doing that I know that I'm going to hurt the people closest to me, who've I talked to and apologized to, that would be my wife and my kids. And I just, you know, it's a shitty moment. It's a shitty moment when you know you're wrong and there are no excuses for your wrong behavior. At the end of the day, man, I just simply have got to do better. But I'm also not going to allow a person to have financial gain off of my mistakes, and in this particular situation that was what was attempted. I said I'd rather fess up to my mistakes.
Reportedly, the tape does not show two people having sex; rather, TMZ says it insinuates sexually suggestive activities had just taken place or were about to take place. Still, Kevin Hart is a pretty straightforward, tell-it-like-it-is celebrity, so it makes sense that he posted the remorseful Instagram message. But after news of the extortion plot surfaced, the extortionist actually reached out to the media and said,
The real reason Kevin Hart orchestrated the Texas Hurricane Relief Fund, this so-called good deed was done to get ahead as he knew this damaging footage was one click away from being exposed as the liar and cheater he is. Kevin Hart was privy to me wanting to expose him as I have made countless attempts to expose this information to various blogs, in an attempt to also get paid.
In other words, the extortionist wants people to believe Kevin Hart set up his Hurricane relief efforts to raise funds he could use to pay off his blackmailer and keep the videotape hidden. However, people close to the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle actor say that accusation is false, and the money he raised for hurricane relief efforts truly will help individuals in need.
The most recent news is that the FBI has agents looking into the matter. But it is not clear whether the woman in the video is the prime suspect or if the detectives are going after somebody who intercepted the video, either by stealing the smartphone on which it was filmed or hacking into someone's stored cloud data. To that end, Kevin Hart's representative released a statement and said,
Someone tried to set Kevin up in a failed extortion attempt. As law enforcement is involved, we cannot comment further as it could affect the investigation.
Cheating rumors have followed Kevin Hart for a long time, but he has continued to deny cheating on Eniko Parrish. He ridiculed accusers with social media messages about how critics make him laugh when they call him unfaithful. But Kevin Hart previously confessed to cheating on his ex-wife, Torrei Hart, to whom he was married from 2003 to 2011. In fact, Parrish recently stirred up controversy by inadvertently hinting she and Kevin Hart began their relationship while he was still married to Torrei Hart. The women took a few jabs at each other in statements, but then they seemed to set aside their difference for the sake of the kids--12-year-old Heaven Hart, 9-year-old Hendrix Hart, and the half-brother or half-sister that is on the way.
It is a shame to see these problems in Kevin Hart's private life. Hopefully, he can resolve everything and move forward to keep working on compassionate works, such as his hurricane relief efforts.
