Kevin Hart Wants $50K From Former Assistant Over Alleged Private Information Leak
Kevin Hart is taking his former personal assistant back to court, this time over money. The comedian and actor wants a judge to order Miesha Shakes to pay $50,000 in damages arising from a confidentiality agreement she allegedly signed while working for him.
Shakes worked as Hart’s personal assistant from August 2017 to October 2020. According to the filing, her employment agreement included a non-disclosure provision barring her from discussing details of Hart’s personal life or his company’s operations. Hart’s legal team argues that the clause is now central to the new financial demand against her.
The Interview That Started It All
The dispute traces back to a sit-down interview Shakes gave to blogger Tasha K, whose real name is Latasha Kebe. Hart claims that before the interview aired, he received a call from someone connected to Tasha K who asked for $250,000 to keep it from being published. He says he refused to pay the demand.
Hart has stated he reported the alleged extortion attempt to police and had his lawyers send a cease-and-desist letter to Tasha K. Despite that warning, the interview was released in December 2023. Hart maintains that what Shakes shared during the conversation caused real damage to both his reputation and his career.
Among the most damaging claims, Hart says Shakes told Tasha K about his interactions with his wife following a 2017 Las Vegas incident that had previously made headlines. He alleges she gathered some of that information improperly, by listening through office walls rather than through any legitimate access to his personal life.
Eavesdropping Allegations Took Center Stage
Court filings describe Hart accusing Shakes of covertly listening to private conversations at his company’s offices, with her ear pressed to the wall, to overhear discussions never meant for her.
Hart’s filing states that Shakes herself acknowledged this practice during her interview with Tasha K. He argues the method she used to gather information makes her disclosures even more of a breach than the NDA alone would suggest.
Shakes also claimed during the interview that Hart had secretly recorded a romantic encounter in Las Vegas and faced criminal charges over it. Hart has firmly denied that claim, stating he never recorded any such video and was never criminally charged in connection with one. That denial became a formal part of his sworn court declaration.
The legal battle began in December 2023, when Hart filed suit against both Shakes and Tasha K in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The original complaint accused the two women of extortion, defamation, breach of contract, and invasion of privacy. Since then, the case has moved through several rounds of motions, amended filings, and rulings.
Some Claims Were Already Tossed Out
A Los Angeles judge denied Hart’s early request for a temporary restraining order to pull the interview from public view, citing the lack of a complete transcript and calling the request too broad. The same judge later dismissed the extortion claim entirely, ruling that it did not meet the required legal standard. The defamation and invasion of privacy claims, however, were allowed to proceed to trial.
Shakes’ legal team pushed back on multiple fronts throughout the case. Her attorneys filed a motion to dismiss on First Amendment grounds, though the judge denied most of it. Shakes also argued that the non-disclosure agreement itself should not be enforceable, claiming that Hart never delivered the health insurance coverage she had promised as part of her employment.
The court found conflicting accounts regarding that healthcare claim, thereby keeping the breach-of-contract allegation alive rather than dismissing it outright. Shakes has separately stated she was dealing with significant mental health issues and financial distress at the time she signed the NDA, which she has cited as relevant context for her decision to speak out.
A New Chapter In A Long Legal Fight
Hart is not new to legal fights stemming from leaked details about his personal life. He has previously dealt with extortion attempts connected to a 2017 incident, including a separate criminal case against an associate who was later charged for trying to sell a recording involving the comedian.
This latest filing signals Hart intends to keep pressing the financial side of his claims against Shakes even as other pieces of the broader case wind down. Neither Shakes nor her legal representatives have publicly responded to the new $50,000 demand at this time.
