Vincent Sandoval/WireImageKevin Hart may joke about a lot of things, but his hustle is not one of them.
The comedian and actor was one of many stars (including Angelina Jolie and Michael Fassbender) who were targeted in a series of emails that got leaked through the now-infamous hack attack against Sony by a group calling itself Guardians of Peace.
In one of the messages, Hart was reportedly called a "whore" by Sony exec Clint Culpepper for asking for more money to promote Think Like a Man Too on his Twitter on top of his $3 million payment.
"I'm not saying he's a whore, but he's a whore," Culpepper wrote of the star to Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal. "If he doesn't do his normal routine, his film will not open as well and his brand will appear diminished and he will- in fact – be f—ing himself because we have his next 2 immediate films."
Yikes.
Without directly calling out the studio or executives, Hart shared two Instagram posts that made fans wonder if he was responding to Culpepper's comments.
The first, which seemed like a more indirect jab at the studio, was a screenshot of an article that calls Hart "the moneymaker," stating that he is "arguably the hardest-working comic in showbiz," while also recounting the millions he's made in the past year alone and promoting his current projects.
The second post, on the other hand, was a little different. This was a typed message apparently from Hart himself. It read:
Knowing your self worth is extremely important people. I worked very hard to get where I am today. I look at myself as a brand and because of that I will never allow myself to be taking advantage of. I OWN MY BRAND…I MAKE SMART DECISIONS FOR MY BRAND….I PROTECT MY BRAND….which is why I'm able to brush ignorance off of my shoulder and continue to move forward. I refuse to be broken people…with that being said its now time for me to get back to building this empire that I've always dreamed of!!!!
As the saying goes, "Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise."