Kevin Hart has turned into a ‘man of few words’ since his close friendship with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs came under scrutiny in the wake of the investigation into the disgraced music mogul’s alleged sex trafficking.
Combs, 54, is currently awaiting trial at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center in New York City on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution after being arrested last month.
Hart, 45, who has been friends with Combs for years, is now desperately trying to distance himself in the face of growing speculation over his history with the Bad Boy Records founder.
The situation is also proving difficult for employees at HartBeat – the global, multi-platform media company he founded in 2009 – with staff aware of the resurfaced video of Hart partying at one of Combs’ infamous bashes.
‘This is like a pink elephant at his company,’ an insider told DailyMail.com. ‘Everyone is trying hard to pretend that there is nothing going on.’
Kevin Hart has turned into a ‘man of few words’ as his close friendship with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has come under scrutiny amid the mogul’s sex trafficking trial (pictured in 2010)
Hart, 45, has been close friends with Combs, 54 – with the pair partying together over the years (pictured in 2018)
‘Kevin is on edge and does not say anything so it has been extremely tense.
‘Kevin knows, as do his friends and employees, that he was close with Diddy and there is video footage of Kevin placing him at the scene of one of his parties.’
Among the large amounts of now-questionable footage currently circulating online is a clip that purports to show Hart and Combs at a party together at the height of the music executive’s hedonistic heyday in 2010.
One post on X showed footage of the comedy star speaking into a microphone while surrounded by scantily-clad women in what appears to be a candle-lit bathroom during a party.
At one point Hart can be seen bursting into laughter after a woman’s hair catches fire while she is in the tub.
Explaining that Hart is unable to laugh his way out of this situation, the source continued: ‘Kevin is used to creating the jokes and now he is the brunt of the joke.
‘His social media is flooded with comments about Diddy and their friendship.’
The timing is less than fortunate as the star is currently on the road for his Acting My Age comedy tour.
Videos purportedly showing the comedian and Diddy partying together in 2010 (pictured) have recently resurfaced and gone viral on social media
A source told DailyMail.com: ‘Kevin is on edge and does not say anything so it has been extremely tense’ (pictured at the 2020 Roc Nation Brunch)
‘There is talk that he is unsure how this tour is going to play out because he knows that people want to hear him talk about this and he won’t.
‘Seeing Kevin navigate this is difficult because he is usually a man of many words and now he is a man of few words.’
The Borderlands star was grilled about his links to Combs while heading to dinner with his wife Eniko Hart, 40, at LAVO restaurant in West Hollywood last week.
On heading into the venue he was by DailyMail.com if he can recall seeing any of the now infamous bottles of baby oil found at Combs’ home when he had ‘hosted parties.’
The actor was quick to deny having any involvement in the sordid parties, firing back: ‘When I hosted for Diddy? You’re asking the wrong person the wrong question.’
When pressed on whether Combs would be safe in jail, Hart again tried to deflect and repeated: ‘Wrong person, wrong question.’
A federal indictment alleges that since 2008 Combs had abused, threatened, and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.
Prosecutors also revealed evidence had been gathered on his long-rumored drug-fueled sex parties — which he referred to as ‘freak offs’ — during their raids on his Los Angeles and Miami homes earlier this year. ‘Electronic devices that contain images and videos of the freak offs, with multiple victims,’ were found.
Unmarked AR-15s, ammunition, as well as more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and other lubricant were also recovered in the raid.
The situation is also proving difficult for employees at HartBeat with staff aware of the resurfaced video of Hart partying at one of Combs’ infamous bashes (pictured in 2018)
The insider noted: ‘There is talk that he is unsure how this tour is going to play out because he knows that people want to hear him talk about this and he won’t’
If convicted, Combs could face life in prison after being charged in relation to an apparent ‘criminal enterprise’ through his business empire: engaging in sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, drugs offences, transportation to engage in prostitution, kidnapping and physical abuse against women, among other offences.
Combs’s former girlfriend Cassie Ventura was allegedly trying to flee one of these events in 2016 when security cameras in a Los Angeles hotel captured Combs viciously attacking her in a corridor.
She filed a lawsuit against Combs in November 2023 which he settled within a day, which provided the catalyst for more people to come forward with claims of abuse.
Combs pleaded not guilty to charges against him and was denied bail, despite his legal team’s request for him to be released for $50 million and kept electronically monitored.