Kevin Hart drama: Man charged with attempting to extort the actor

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A man was charged Wednesday with trying to extort money from Kevin Hart by threatening to release video he secretly shot of the actor and comedian with a woman in Las Vegas.

Los Angeles County prosecutors charged 41-year-old Jonathan Jackson with attempted extortion and extortion by threatening letter. Jackson remains in custody on $100,000 bail after his Monday arrest, jail records showed.

Prosecutors allege Jackson tried to extort an undisclosed amount from Hart in August then tried to sell the video to celebrity news websites.

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Jackson’s lawyer, Chad Lewin, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment and more details about his client.

According to TMZ, the star and Jackson have been friends for more than 15 years and even costarred in Hart’s 2014 comedy, Think Like a Man Too.

Shortly after the charges were announced, Hart tweeted: “Mind blown…Hurt…at a lost for words and simply in complete disbelief at the moment. WOW.”

Attorney Lisa Bloom, who said in September that someone secretly filmed “bedroom images” of her client Montia Sabbag with Hart in a hotel suite, praised the charges.

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“Montia and I are delighted that the alleged extortionist is being brought to justice,” Bloom said on Twitter. “As a crime victim in this case, Montia has fully cooperated with the police since the beginning.”

Without giving details, Hart apologized on Instagram when word of the video emerged in September to his wife and kids for what he called a “bad error in judgment.”

Emails to Hart’s publicists seeking further comment were not immediately returned.

The 38-year-old standup comic-turned-movie actor most recently starred in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.

Contributing: Andrea Mandell

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