Comedian Kevin Hart is the first celebrity to publicly react to an insult in a leaked Sony Pictures email. The comedian, who has starred in box office hits for the studio, stressed that he protects his brand and will move forward.
As previously reported, an email written by Sony executive Clint Culpepper to Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal refers to Hart as a “whore.”
“I'm not saying he's a whore, but he's a whore,” Culpepper wrote in the email, which was first published by Gawker. The email followed Hart’s request for $3 million more to plug one of his recent movies on social media. (Culpepper was possibly referring to Think Like a Man Too.) Culpepper argues that Hart using his social media accounts was just part of the initial check Hart received to do a movie.
Hart took to Instagram to respond to the leaked email, explaining why he would ask for more money. As one of the most popular comedians today, he understands that he’s a brand, which needs to be produced.
“KNowing your self worth is extremely important people,” he wrote. “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 [sic] 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!!!!”
Hart was also mentioned in an insensitive exchange between producer Scott Rudin and Pascal, in which Rudin wrote, “I bet he likes Kevin Hart,” when listing possible films that President Obama likes.
Hart’s next movie is The Wedding Ringer, which will be released by Sony, hits theaters on Jan. 16.
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