After enduring a brutal ribbing during his Netflix roast, Kevin Hart is once again facing a roasting, this time from some of his former employees.
The actor, known for starring in the action comedy series Jumanji, is embroiled in legal battles with his former executive assistant and ex-staff members at his Hartbeat production company.
The firm recently partnered with Authentic Brands Group, a digital marketing agency and consulting firm, in a deal some former employees reportedly warned could mark ‘the beginning of the end of Hartbeat.’
Facing internal turmoil following a wave of controversial layoffs – including the reported firing of 12 employees in December – Hartbeat filed a lawsuit in February against former employees Eric Eddings and Lesley Gwam, alleging breach of contract, unfair business practices and misappropriation of trade secrets.
The duo pushed back against the company’s request for an injunction aimed at preventing those secrets from being used in their new podcast venture, insisting there is no evidence that they misappropriated any confidential information.
Hart’s former executive assistant, Miesha Shakes, who worked for the 46-year-old star from 2017 until 2020, told the Daily Mail she is not surprised by the latest turmoil surrounding her ex-boss.
‘Being a former executive assistant of Kevin Hart, this does not surprise me at all, because Kevin’s been hiding secrets, and you know, he’s been hiding things forever and nothing has ever been exposed,’ she said in response to the lawsuit between Hartbeat and his former employees.
‘It’s just unfortunate that a business relationship has to get ruined over somebody being greedy. How much money do you have to have until you say it’s enough?
Kevin Hart’s recent move of partnering with Authentic Brands Group has called for major internal changes at Hartbeat Productions, including several layoffs
Hart and his wife Eniko on the red carpet at The Roast of Kevin Hart on May 10
‘A person can tell you that they’re here for you and then when you try to be successful outside on your own outside of their company, they’re not really there for you… It’s just unfortunate, it’s sad and this is a situation of when greed goes too far. We’re just seeing Kevin spiral out of control it seems like due to money.’
According to TMZ, Hartbeat claims Eddings and Gwam ‘had access to extensive confidential and proprietary and trade secret information, financial performance data, partnership strategies, and business plans for Hartbeat’s audio and podcast division.’
Speaking to the Daily Mail, another former employee, who is not part of the ongoing lawsuit, said the suit against Eddings and Gwam feels ‘vindictive and unnecessary.’
‘I think that Lesley and Eric are almost certainly in the right,’ the former employee said. ‘They’re both very smart. They are straight shooters, and I think that they saw the writing on the wall in terms of the direction the company’s going.
‘I think they were smart enough to realize that this is probably not going to be where they’re working for very long, and let’s figure out what Plan B would be so that way we’re not stranded.’
The former employee went on to say that while there were some staff who were ‘blindsided’ by the round of layoffs, others felt ‘there needed to be layoffs’ due to the company’s alleged downfall – which was ultimately due to a ‘confluence’ of various factors.
‘The reality is the industry changed,’ they told the Daily Mail. ‘It’s pulled back. [Hartbeat] was overleveraged in terms of overhead commitments, and it was built in such a way that it was going to be challenging even in the best of circumstances.
‘And then when the external factors turn, content pullback is real… and I think that there were decisions that were made that put the company in a bigger hole than it would’ve been otherwise.’
As Bloomberg reported, the development of new film and TV projects ‘has slowed,’ and a ‘slate of new podcasts was pitched but never produced.’
Former employees are now pointing fingers, with some saying that Hart isn’t 100 percent to blame, despite being the CEO.
An Instagram post from Hart, where he proclaimed his pride toward his team and their projects. Hartbeat Productions is behind several of Hart’s movies, including Die Hart
Hart has 14 upcoming projects including the fourth installment of Jumanji, which is set to be released on Christmas Day this December
‘The argument is: are the right people still standing versus who was let go?’ the former employee, who confirmed they all got severance, told the Daily Mail.
‘The people at the company who Kevin delegated certain roles to, did he leave them in the best hands with the right people? It’s his name on the door, and he’s the person at the top, but the people he decided to hire for certain positions, that’s on him.’
The Daily Mail has learned that there was an overall understanding that Hart’s job was ‘never to be in the office every day’ – rather, his priority was production.
‘He’s shooting movies and it’s arguably the best thing he could have been doing to help the company… That’s the priority,’ the former employee added.
Hart, known for being one of the hardest-working actors in show business, currently has 14 upcoming projects, according to his IMDB page.
The ex-employee theorized that Hartbeat needs to figure out the direction the company is heading in – whether it’s going to stick to doing big-budget TV shows and movies or try to do more low-budget projects that it can finance and own.
‘I don’t know that they’ve figured out what that growth strategy is that’s going to support even the size of the company that’s left,’ they said.
There are fears that Hartbeat could be heading in the direction of Hart’s separate entity, Hart House, his plant-based restaurant chain that launched in 2022. Despite operating four restaurants in the Los Angeles area, the chain abruptly shut down all operations in September 2024.
While Hart is not in the office every day due to his filming schedule, employees have questioned who he left in charge
Dr Shica Little, whose plant-based cookies, Dr Shica’s Bakery, were sold at each location, told the Daily Mail that the layoffs ‘were like a domino effect.’
‘People were calling me every other week, “Oh, I just got laid off. I just got laid off.” And I was like, “Oh wow, something is going on.”
‘Literally that Friday [before it shut down], I might’ve had a conversation with them on the cookies and then that [following week], it was like “Hart House closes their doors.” There was no warning.’
Little, who met Hart at the restaurant’s opening ceremonies, believes the business ‘could have been saved’ if he had the ‘right people’ on the chain’s team ‘to ensure that things don’t slip through the cracks.’
The Los Angeles-based entrepreneur claimed Hart House’s downfall was due to the actor and businessman ‘taking on too much’ and that he ‘just can’t manage it.’ Instead, she said he should focus on one project rather than ‘hundreds of projects.’
Hart addressed the recent layoffs and internal changes during his interview with The Breakfast Club on May 26. He said that ‘making money in the business is important’ and so he did what he needed to do, which was ‘downsize and save the money.’
‘Hartbeat is never going anywhere,’ he told the morning show’s hosts, while adding that he won’t do a movie without Hartbeat producing it.
Amid the apparent money concerns, Hart and his company have been facing a separate controversy this month.
During the Netflix special The Roast Of Kevin Hart, which aired May 10, Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe was criticized over a joke about George Floyd.
Hart, whose production company was behind the Netflix special, is facing blame and has yet to issue a formal apology.
He has admitted that the joke was distasteful, but responded: ‘It’s a live production. I’m not compromising the live production for a reaction of what? What do you want me to do? I’m going to drag him off? You want me to fight afterwards? That’s not what I agreed to do.’
Shakes responded to the controversy: ‘Right now, you see what’s going on with him and the Kevin Hart roast – it’s not about the joke. We want him to stand up for the Black culture, and we can’t even get an apology out of him. So Kevin is really disappointing right now, he really is.’
Shakes was by Hart’s side through the biggest scandals of his career, including when he was unfaithful to his then-pregnant wife, Eniko, in 2017, and when he stepped down from hosting the 2019 Oscars following immense backlash over his homophobic jokes and tweets. She discusses all of this in her book about working for the actor, Truth, Lies, Entertainment, which was released this month.
Hart laughed at jokes told during The Roast of Kevin Hart, which premiered on Netflix on May 10. He is now facing backlash over a joke made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe about George Floyd
Teyana Taylor speaks at The Roast of Kevin Hart, which premiered on Netflix
‘The more I stayed, the more I started noticing patterns,’ Shakes wrote. ‘Who spoke up and what happened after. Who stayed quiet, and how they stayed protected. Who got corrected, who got covered, and who got ignored… By then I understood that the drama at Hartbeat was never just drama; it was power.
‘It was image, it was loyalty, it was silence. And once you understood that, you understood why so many things never got handled in the open. They got handled quietly. Behind doors, in side conversations, and in warnings. In who got protected and who got blamed.’
When discussing the 2017 cheating scandal – Hart claimed he was on ecstasy the night before he cheated on Eniko in Las Vegas with model Montia Sabbag – Shakes wrote that he was ‘losing endorsements’ and that ‘things could have gotten worse,’ but then the JT Jackson story came about.
Hart alleged his former friend, Jonathan ‘JT’ Jackson, attempted to sell a recorded video of the encounter between Hart and Sabbag to extort the comedian.
‘And suddenly… that’s what everyone was talking about,’ Shakes wrote. ‘Not the cheating. Not the pregnancy, not the damage, but his backstabbing friend was all the world cared about. That story changed everything. It shifted the narrative. It made Kevin look like the victim in a story where he was really the villain.
‘And in a way… It saved him. By the time everything settled from the JT situation, Hartbeat started feeling normal again.’
Hart and his team reported Jackson’s alleged extortion attempt to the LA County District Attorney’s Office in 2018, which led to Jackson’s arrest. Charges were dropped in 2019.
In 2024, Jackson sued Hart for breach of contract for the written contract they had agreed upon following the extortion charges, and sought damages ‘in excess of $12 million.’ A Los Angeles judge ordered the case into private arbitration.
Hart was ordered in May 2025 to pay all arbitration fees. He has since paid the $6,750 arbitration fee, but according to court documents, the case is still ongoing.
Hart and his wife, Eniko Hart, attend the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards in January. He has faced many scandals over the years, including his cheating scandal in 2017
Hart claimed he was on ecstasy the night before he cheated on Eniko in Las Vegas with model Montia Sabbag
Hart alleged his former friend, Jonathan ‘JT’ Jackson (pictured), attempted to sell a recorded video of the encounter between Hart and Sabbag to extort the comedian
The parties have a scheduled post-arbitration status conference on July 1. Per a March filing, the arbitrator entered her ruling on February 4 on an undisclosed ‘limited issue.’ In the next hearing, arbitration will continue as ‘further briefing [is needed] on a separate issue that is now before the arbitrator.’
Meanwhile, Shakes told the Daily Mail she is looking forward to her day in court. She’s still embroiled in a breach of contract and defamation lawsuit with Hart, and the parties will face off during a jury trial, which is scheduled for October 12 in Los Angeles, according to court records seen by the Daily Mail.
Hart initially sued Shakes and YouTuber Latasha ‘Tasha K’ Kebe in 2023, accusing Shakes of violating her NDA after she did an interview with Tasha K (she has since been dismissed from the case).
He also accused both women of civil extortion, alleging they demanded a $250,000 payout to not publish the ‘defamatory’ tell-all interview.
The Daily Mail has contacted Hart’s representative for comment on this story.
