KEVIN HART GETS RIPPED BY SONY EXECS FOR REQUESTING MONEY TO PROMOTE HIS MOVIE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

SONY EXECS CLINT CULPEPPER & AMY PASCAL WITH KEVIN HART

Kevin Hart has a whopping 10 million Instagram followers and 14.4 million followers on Twitter — but getting the actor/comedian to promote his latest projects on social media apparently doesn't come cheap.

In new leaked Sony emails on Gawker, it's revealed that Hart asked for additional funds from Sony to write a Tweet promoting his film (possibly "Think Like a Man Too"), in addition to the $3 million paycheck he got for the movie.

Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesSony execs Clint Culpepper and Amy Pascal with Kevin Hart at a film festival in February. In an email exchange between Sony Pictures co-chair Amy Pascal, studio exec Clint Culpepper, and Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton, Culpepper writes, "I’m not saying he’s a whore, but he’s a whore."

Culpepper continues:

It's not as if we paid him 3M and 4M respectively for his last 2 films thinking he might be nominated. We paid for his ability to open a film which included his social media savvy. I feel like this is something that should be negotiated going into the film as opposed to after the fact. It feels tantamount to buying a car and then upon picking it up being told that the engine will cost extra.

I'm tempted to suggest we call his bluff. 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------ himself because we have his next 2 immediate films. And then there's the social media precedent we're setting...especially in light of the fact that Channing is at the same agency.

Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr. explains that Culpepper's strong comments may have been taken out of context and his tone misinterpreted over email:

Culpepper’s salty wit is something he wears on his sleeve, and I understand he and Hart spoke and laughed it off. The relationship they have isn’t reflected in the leaked reports, and so the report, especially when taken out of context, seems like a vitally important revelation. Guess what? It isn’t. The fact is, it’s not uncommon for them to talk to each other like that, or for Culpepper to talk to most people in Hollywood like that.

Hart has a longstanding relationship with Sony/Screen Gems, doing six past successful films with the studio, including "Think Like A Man" (which raked in over $91 million at the box office), "Think Like A Man Too" ( $65 million), and "About Last Night ($48 million).