LOS ANGELES (CN) — A defamation claim by actor and comedian Kevin Hart against YouTube entertainment industry commentator Tasha K over a tell-all interview with Hart's former personal assistant, which he says included false information about him, can proceed, a California judge ruled.
California Superior Court Judge Holly Fujie, at a hearing Wednesday in Los Angeles, denied part of the anti-SLAPP motion by Tasha K, whose full name is Latasha Transrina Kebe, and her production company.
In the interview posted on Tasha K's website in December, Miesha Shakes, Hart's former assistant, said the comedian faced charges relating to a sex tape he recorded in Las Vegas in 2017.
"Such statements were published despite the fact that the prospect of there being criminal charges against Hart was provably false, which could have been confirmed with a basic public records search, and the fact that no evidence existed to corroborate such a claim," Hart claims in his lawsuit against Shakes and Tasha K.
The judge agreed that Hart's defamation claim has the necessary "minimal merit" to survive Tasha K's motion to strike the claim under the statute that allows for quick dismissal of lawsuits targeted at stifling legitimate free speech.
"Shakes and Kebe’s use of the word 'charges,' in context and based on the common usage of the word, could lead a reasonable observer to conclude that Hart faced criminal prosecution," Fujie said in the tentative decision she affirmed at Wednesday's hearing. "Defendants do not dispute that Hart never faced criminal charges in connection with the Las Vegas incident."
In so far as Shakes was referring to civil “charges,” which isn't the common usage of the term, the judge said, the statement also would have been untrue, because a civil lawsuit against Hart by the woman in the sex tape had been dismissed months earlier in June 2023.
Jacquelyn Schell, an attorney for Tasha K and the production company, unsuccessfully tried to persuade the judge that the technically incorrect use of "charges" would have had no material impact on the listener and that the existence of the sex tape and the lawsuit by the woman were already public knowledge.
"All of these facts are out there," Schell said, noting that Hart had publicly apologized to his wife for his extramarital exploits.
The judge agreed that Hart's extortion claim against the YouTube personality should be stricken because California law doesn't provide for that cause of action. Hart's defamation claim, on the other hand, as well as his invasion of privacy and intentional interference with contractual relations claims, could proceed.
But separate claims by Hart's company, K. Hart Enterprises, for defamation, invasion of privacy and extortion, also didn't survive Tasha K's bid to have them thrown out.
Matthew Cate, another attorney representing Taska K, indicated that they might appeal the judge's denial of parts of their anti-SLAPP motion, which could stay Hart's lawsuit for a significant amount of time.
Shakes, who until recently represented herself in the litigation, didn't join in Tasha K's motion to strike, but she will benefit from Wednesday's ruling in so far as the civil extortion claim against her will also fail as a matter of law.
In January, a different Los Angeles Superior Court judge rejected Hart's request to order Tasha K to take down the video of the interview with his former assistant.
In the interview, Shakes told the popular talk show host and internet personality that Hart had cheated on his wife a number of times and had gotten one woman pregnant. She also said that Hart had a gambling problem.
Tasha K is no stranger to the courtroom. She was sued by rapper Cardi B in 2019 for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A jury sided with Cardi B, and ordered Tasha K to pay $4 million in damages. In May 2023, Tasha K filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Cardi B has accused the YouTuber of hiding money in secret offshore accounts.
Follow @edpettersson
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
