Kevin Hart says he's in "disbelief" about extortion charges against friend Jonathan Todd Jackson
Kevin Hart wrote that he's "hurt" and in "complete disbelief" after learning of the charges against his close friend, Jonathan Todd "Action" Jackson. On Wednesday, Jackson was charged with trying to extort an undisclosed amount of money from Hart last August for a sex tape he allegedly had. The recording was allegedly of Hart and a woman in Las Vegas; Jackson is accused of trying to sell the video to numerous websites, prosecutors said.
It turns out that Jackson is a close friend of Hart's and even attended his bachelor party, TMZ reports. The two have known each other for years. Jackson is an actor who appeared in Hart's "Think Like a Man Too," comedy special "Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain," and on an episode of "S.W.A.T." on CBS. Jackson is also a member of the Professional Bowlers Association.
It's unclear when Hart learned that his alleged extortionist was Jackson or if Jackson ever approached him directly.
Jackson was charged with one count of attempted extortion and one count of extortion by threatening letter. His arraignment was initially expected on Wednesday, but a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office told CBS News that it was delayed to later this month.
Jackson and Hart appear to have spent a good amount of time together. Jackson posted a throwback photo with Hart last year that said, "yeeahhhhh this was some GREAT TIMES right here bruh." Jackson has posted photos of himself with other stars as well, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Marlon Wayans.
In 2016, Jackson even posted a lengthy rant on Instagram asking his friends to stop asking him to connect them with Hart. He wrote, "So please stop flooding my DM, TEXT MESSAGES AND FB MESSAGES with dumb a** messages like 'Hows Kev's schedule looken for next month?' ... I love him to death but him and I are just friends. I am in no way shape or form the middleman."
Jackson appears to be friends with "S.W.A.T." actor Shemar Moore, who wrote on Jackson's Instagram, "Maaaaan.... CLEAR YOUR NAME HOMIE!!!! You aint do this s**t to Kevin!!!!! TALK TO EACH OTHER!!!!"
Prosecutors are recommending a $100,000 bail for Jackson. If he is convicted as charged, he faces up to four years in county jail.
Last September, Hart made a vague public apology to his wife, Eniko Parrish, and children in which he said he made "bad error in judgment" after he allegedly fell victim to extortion.
"It's a s**tty moment when you know you're wrong and there's no excuses for your wrong behavior," he said in an Instagram video. "At the end of the day, I just simply got to do better. But I'm also not gonna allow a person to have financial gain off my mistakes. In this particular situation, that's what was attempted. I said I'd rather fess up to my mistakes."
Attorney Lisa Bloom said a woman had a brief affair with Hart in August and someone illegally recorded intimate footage of the two of them. Bloom said the woman "is adamant that she had nothing to do with this [extortion attempt] and that she is a crime victim just like Kevin Hart."
Hart and his wife had a baby last November.
