Key Takeaways
- Kevin Hart wants a judge to block Montia Sabbag, the woman tied to his 2017 sex-tape controversy, from testifying in his lawsuit against former assistant Miesha Shakes.
- Hart claims Shakes violated an NDA and damaged his reputation in a 2023 interview with blogger Tasha K, while Shakes argues his public image had already suffered and wants Sabbag questioned about the earlier scandal.
- Hart has settled with Tasha K, but his case against Shakes continues, and the judge will decide whether Sabbag can take the stand.
Kevin Hart wants one name crossed off the witness list in his lawsuit against a former assistant, and it's someone he has a complicated history with.
That someone is Montia Sabbag, the woman at the center of the comedian's 2017 sex tape controversy. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Hart is asking a judge to keep her from testifying, arguing she has nothing to do with the case. He also believes Miesha Shakes, who worked for him from 2017 to 2020, named her to embarrass him.
So how did a 2017 scandal end up on a 2026 witness list?
It starts with a tell-all. In December 2023, blogger Tasha K published an interview in which Shakes made claims about Hart's personal life, including an alleged affair at his office. Hart sued both women, accusing Shakes of breaking the nondisclosure agreement she signed after leaving his company and of making false statements that damaged his reputation.
Hart has since settled with Tasha K, but his fight with Shakes is still going.
Shakes argues the NDA shouldn't count because Hart didn't hold up his end of the deal, including the health insurance she says he promised her. Hart disputes that and says his payments to Shakes under the agreement totaled $102,975.
The other big question is how much damage the interview actually did. Hart says Shakes hurt his reputation. She says his image had already taken hits long before she sat down with Tasha K, and she points to the 2017 recording as one example.
That's where Sabbag comes in.
In 2019, Sabbag sued Hart for $60 million, alleging he was involved in secretly recording their sexual encounter in a Las Vegas hotel without her consent. Hart denied wrongdoing. Her federal case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds in 2020, and a separate California state case was dismissed in 2023 after she and her attorney missed a court conference. Neither dismissal decided whether her claims were true.
Shakes now wants to question Sabbag about the recording and the legal fight that followed. Hart wants no part of it. He says Shakes filed her witness list without consulting his attorneys, and he wants testimony limited to himself, Shakes and Tasha K unless Shakes can prove anyone else belongs on the stand.
The trial was previously scheduled for Monday, Oct. 12, though it's unclear whether that date still stands. For now, Sabbag remains a potential witness, and whether she ever takes the stand is up to the judge.
