Inside a Year of Chaos and Conflict at Kevin Hart’s Media Company

A new deal with Authentic Brands is seen by some employees as the beginning of the end

Kevin HartPhotographer: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images

When Kevin Hart announced in January that he’d licensed his name to Authentic Brands Group, the popular comedian was silent on a key detail: the future of his namesake media company.

Hart sold some ownership and oversight of his brand in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money and a stake in Authentic, a New York-based firm that manages the likenesses of Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal and David Beckham.