Kevin Hart 'hurt' as friend is charged with trying to extort him

 Kevin Hart

Kevin Hart has said he's "hurt" and in "complete disbelief" after a long-time friend was charged with extortion.

Jonathan Todd Jackson allegedly tried to coerce the comedian into paying an undisclosed amount for a video showing the married star with another woman in Las Vegas last August.

On Wednesday, Jackson was charged with attempted extortion and extortion by sending threatening letter.

A press release issued by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office (LADA), added that Jackson allegedly secretly videotaped the comedian with a woman and then tried selling the recording to multiple celebrity news websites.

Shortly after the news had become public, Kevin wrote on Twitter:

Mind blown...Hurt...at a lost for words and simply in complete disbelief at the moment. WOW

— Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) May 2, 2018

TMZ reports that Jackson was an actor and a good friend of the comedian for more than 15 years. He even attended Kevin's stag do and has been seen in a number of pictures with the star.

If convicted, Jackson faces a possible maximum sentence of four years in county jail.

A few weeks after the alleged extortion attempt took place, the comedian issued a grovelling public apology to his wife Eniko Parish, who was heavily pregnant with his child at the time.

 Kevin and wife Eniko

Appearing on the verge of tears, he shared: "I am at a place in my life where I feel like I have a target on my back and because of that I should make smart decisions and recently I didn't.

"I'm not perfect and I'm not going to sit here and say that I am or claim to be in any way, shape or form and I made a bad error in judgement and put myself in an environment where only bad things can happen and they did," he confessed in the emotional apology shared on Instagram, without directly addressing the alleged footage.

He said he had apologised to Eniko and his children and admitted there's no excuse for his behaviour.