Kevin Hart speaks out over sex tape extortion scandal: 'The same level of pain I caused my wife came back to me'
Comedian addresses a number of controversies in his new Netflix series, 'Don't F*** This Up'
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Your support makes all the difference.Kevin Hart has used his new six-part Netflix documentary to reflect on a number of controversial moments in his career.
In the new show, titled Kevin Hart: Don’t F*** This Up, Hart addresses scandals including his extra-marital affair, an extortion attempt, and the controversy surrounding past homophobic comments that led to him stepping down as Oscars host.
Jonathan Todd Jackson, a man described as a member of Hart’s close circle of friends and associates, was accused of trying to extort Hart with a sex tape made without the comedian’s knowledge.
Jackson denied ever attempting to extort Hart and pleaded not guilty to an extortion charge, which was dropped earlier this year. Both Hart and Jackson are currently being sued by model Motia Sabagg who claims she was “secretly recorded”.
“To this day there’s still a piece of me that’s like, ‘there’s no way,’” an emotional Hart says in the series. “You’re speaking in an alleged format but what I was able to take from it was the same hurt that I caused, that individual being my wife [Eniko Parrish], that same level of pain came right back to me. it sucks that what happened happened, but now your eyesight is even more clear.”
Hart also discussed his regret over his affair in 2017. “You can think you got it all together. Something stupid can happen that can take it all away like that,” he said.
Footage taken during the time of the Oscars controversy, where Hart’s appointment as host provoked scrutiny after past homophobic comments he had made on social media resurfaced, is also shown in the series.
“You need to learn how to stop and think,” Hart’s publicist is shown discussing with a team member at the time the scandal emerged. “He’s not used to being the person that’s not loved and cherished.”
His publicist is also overhead saying the comedian needed to take a “humility pill.”
He needs to just shut up and put his head down for the next few weeks.... What he needs to remember is he’s feeding 50-60 people. When he takes a sh***er, everybody takes a sh***er and that’s a big issue now,” his publicist says.
Despite an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where Hart attempted to soothe the public furore, Hart continued to cause consternation over his uncontrite attitude to the comments he’d made in the past.
“What I thought was going to blow over ended up becoming a bigger mess than I expected,” Hart says.
“Everybody is telling me my approach is wrong.... There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen but there’s only one person in the hot water,” he adds adding that being labelled homophobic kept building his frustrations and ultimately got under his skin.
Addressing his “I’m over it” response, he adds: “What I thought that was going to do, it did not do. The complete opposite happened.”
And reflecting on the controversy, he explains: “What I thought it was it wasn’t, and my approach to dealing with it because of the assumption that I had is just wrong.”
He then admits that he realised he “missed an opportunity” after speaking with close friends and taking time to reflect on his comments.
“I missed an opportunity to say simply that I don’t condone any type of violence in any way, shape or form to anyone for being who they are. I f***ed up.... Instead I said, ‘I addressed it.’ I said, ‘I apologised.’ I said, ‘I talked about this already.’ I was just immature.”
The series includes appearances by fellow stars including Chris Rock, Samuel L Jackson, Jimmy Fallon, Chadwick Boseman and Idris Elba.
Kevin Hart: Don’t F*** This Up is available to stream now.