Ice Cube has bowed out of his co-starring part in the upcoming comedy Oh Hell No after turning down the producers’ request for the Covid-19 vaccine.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the rapper was cast with Jack Black in the Sony-produced comedy back in June, when producers requested that all cast and crew members be vaccinated before the Hawaii-set production this winter. According to THR, Ice Cube turned down a $9 million payoff, according to sources. Ice Cube’s representative did not respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone at the time of publication. The Hollywood Reporter approached both Sony and Ice Cube’s talent agency for comment.
While Ice Cube has not clearly and openly commented on the Covid-19 vaccine, he has responded to the issues for covering up during the Covid-19 pandemic on social media, even planning to release a line of “Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self” t-shirts to generate money for line staff healthcare workers, showcasing iconic images of the rapper wearing a face mask. Ice Cube also gifted 2,000 face masks to an Oklahoma college in August and was pictured wearing them repeatedly during his Big 3 basketball game.
Ice Cube, who is officially a member of the rap supergroup Mount Westmore alongside Snoop Dogg, E-40, and Too Short, was previously mired in controversy in 2020 when he attempted to unite with the Trump regime on their “Platinum Plan” one month before the election. Later, in a conversation with Rolling Stone, the artist stated. “Now, I didn’t talk to Trump. I’ve never met him in my life. So I talked to his people and he made the adjustments in his plan. That’s just the truth. I can come up with some bullshit and lie about what happened. That’s the truth. That’s what happened. And the Democrats still had the opportunity to do the same thing. They have the opportunity to do this.”
He continued, “And look, I’m not telling nobody who to vote for. I’m not endorsing anybody. I think that’s a decision where people got to make on their own. But this is what happened. And I’m going to go talk to every president until we get this done.”