Kevin Hart Lashes Out at Sony Exec for 'Whore' Snipe ... 'I Protect My Brand'

Kevin Hart has come out swinging at the Sony exec who groused, "I'm not saying he's a whore, but he's a whore" ... saying he will NOT be taken advantage of by ignorant bosses.

Kevin was the subject of a Sony leak Wednesday ... when an email was leaked from Clint Culpepper who made the comment because Kevin wanted additional money for promoting the movie "Think Like a Man Too" on social media.

Kevin just fired back on Instagram, "I OWN MY BRAND ... I MAKE SMART DECISIONS FOR MY BRAND ... I PROTECT MY BRAND ... I will never allow myself to be taken advantage of."

Kevin takes a swipe at Culpepper, saying, "I'm able to brush ignorance off of my shoulder and continue to move forward."

And Kevin offers inspiration by saying, "Knowing your self worth is extremely important people ... i worked very hard to get where I am today."

Kevin talked about the leak on a Phoenix radio interview this morning, ironically while promoting a movie.