Actor and rapper Ice Cube has reportedly dropped out of the Sony comedy “Oh Hell No” after producers requested that the entire cast get the COVID-19 vaccine, sources told The Hollywood Reporter.
By allegedly refusing to get his shots, the “Friday” star walked away from a $9 million payday and a winter filming in Hawaii with co-star Jack Black.
HuffPost reached out to Ice Cube and Sony for confirmation and comment, but they did not immediately respond.
Ice Cube has publicly advocated for mask-wearing during the pandemic. In August, Bacone College thanked the N.W.A. artist for donating 2,000 face masks to the school. In April 2020, Ice Cube launched a “Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self” brand of T-shirts, which featured images of him wearing a mask. The rapper said on Instagram that 100% of proceeds from the T-shirt sales went to front-line health care workers.
Later in 2020, the hip-hop star was criticized for working with then-President Donald Trump on his “platinum plan,” which would have labeled the Ku Klux Klan, but also anti-fascist or “antifa” groups, terrorist organizations. Many viewed the plan as an attempt by Trump to win over Black Americans leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
But the “Barbershop” star defended his work with Trump on Twitter, saying that both Republicans and Democrats had reached out to him after he released a plan to address racial inequality earlier in 2020 called Contract With Black America.
“Dems said we’ll address the CWBA after the election,” Ice Cube tweeted. “Trump campaign made some adjustments to their plan after talking to us about the CWBA.”
Ice Cube also recently left the boxing drama “Flint Strong,” directed by “Mudbound” Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison and written by Barry Jenkins, THR reported. But it is unclear what prompted his departure.