The INSIDER Summary:
- Kevin Hart posted a video on Instagram where he apologized for cheating on his wife.
- A person is allegedly attempting to extort him with a video showing his alleged infidelity.
- The FBI is investigating the case and has a suspect.
- Reports of cheating have dogged Hart for months.
Kevin Hart took to Instagram Sunday to post a bizarre video where he apologized to his pregnant wife and two children for apparent infidelity.
And now the FBI is involved.
"I made a bad error in judgment and I put myself in a bad environment where only bad things can happen and they did,"Hart said in the video. "And in doing that I know that I’m going to hurt the people closest to me, who’ve I talked to and apologized to, that would be my wife and my kids."
It's all part of an outlandish alleged extortion attempt that's upending the comedian-actor's career.
Here's a breakdown of what's happening.
Hart posted the apology video.
The first time the public had an inkling of what was going on was with Hart's video. He said he felt like he had a "target on my back" and failed to make "smart decisions" with unspecified bad behavior.
Hart also suggested that he was a target of extortion or blackmail, and he said he would not allow it to succeed.
"I’m also not going to allow a person to have financial gain off of my mistakes and in this particular situation that was what was attempted," Hart said. "I’d rather 'fess up to my mistakes."
Here's Hart's video:
An alleged extortionist wants money.
The alleged extortionist appears to have a video depicting Hart in a "sexually provocative situation,"as TMZ, which reports to have seen the video, described it. The publication posted two minutes of it, which consists of scrolling text. In the text, the alleged extortionist said he or she wants to "get paid."
"Kevin Hart was privy to me wanting to expose him as I have made countless attempts to expose this information to various blogs, in an attempt to also get paid,"the text reads.
Another TMZ report says the demand for money hit eight figures.
According to TMZ, the video at the center of the scandal shows two people having sex on a bed, but they can't be identified. Afterwards, it cuts to a naked man who looks like Hart walking into the room.
Bizarrely, the alleged extortionist said he or she wants to expose Kevin Hart for orchestrating a Hurricane Harvey relief fundraiser in order to distract from the impending release of the video.
"The real reason Kevin Hart orchestrated the Texas Hurricane Relief Fund, this so-called good deed was done to get ahead as he knew this damaging footage was one click away from being exposed as the liar and cheater he is," the text reads.
The FBI is investigating and it has a suspect.
Following the revelations, the FBI has launched an investigation, according to CBS Los Angeles.
The FBI reportedly has a suspect in the case. It's not clear, however, if the suspect is the person who took the video or the person who is making the alleged extortion attempt, or if these are the same people.
It's not the first time Hart has had to fend off cheating accusations.
This scandal is Hart's most extreme by far. But reports have been swirling for months over whether Hart was faithful to his wife, Eniko Parrish.
In July, he laughed off cheating accusations on Instagram. He also denied his ex-wife's claims that he was still sleeping with her while he was married to his second wife.