Last year, people wondered: is Ice Cube a dumb guy who was being conned by Trumpers, or is he a full-on MAGAt? We still don’t really know the answer, but it was a complete mess for Ice Cube politically. He tried both-sides-ism, he tried dipping his toe in MAGA-ville, he tried to pretend he gave the then-Biden-Harris campaign an opportunity to meet with him, and at the end of the day, he willingly allowed himself to be used as a prop by racist Nazis. Nowadays, Ice Cube’s biggest political issue is a bit different: he’s an anti-vaxxer. He refuses to get the Covid vaccine to work on a film with a vaccine mandate. So he’s walking away from a $9 million paycheck.
Ice Cube has departed Sony’s upcoming comedy, Oh Hell No, in which he would’ve co-starred with Jack Black, after declining a request from producers to get vaccinated, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. Sony had no comment. A personal representative for the star declined to comment. WME, his agency, declined to comment. Oh Hell No is being produced by Matt Tolmach and Black, who both did not offer a comment.
Ice Cube and Black partnered on the project in June. The Sony film was looking to shoot this winter in Hawaii with Kitao Sakurai, the filmmaker behind Netflix’s breakout comedy Bad Trip, in the director’s seat. Producers on Oh Hell No made the request that cast on the project would need to be vaccinated.
The film is pushing back its production start. Black injured himself in June while filming a gag for the last episode of Conan but is still attached to the project. Sources tell THR the studio is looking to find a replacement for Ice Cube, who walked from a $9 million payday.
Throughout the pandemic, Ice Cube has promoted mask-wearing. In August, Bacone College in Oklahoma thanked the star and others for a donation of 2,000 face masks to use as personal protective equipment. In April 2020, amid COVID-19 lockdowns, he unveiled “Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self” branded T-shirts, featuring the star in a mask, in partnership with the manufacturer Black Out, with proceeds to benefit frontline health workers.
Sony’s Oh Hell No is the second project that Ice Cube has left in recent months. The rapper turned actor was to have co-starred in boxing movie Flint Strong but is no longer involved. It’s unclear what circumstances prompted the departure. The Universal drama actually shot one day before the first COVID-19 shutdown stateside in March 2020. It is now in turnaround but is being reconstituted with a search for a new co-lead underway.
I’m of two minds. One side is saying: good lord, what an absolute imbecile, why in the world would you walk away from millions of dollars? The other side is like… well, if he wants to be an idiot, this is the safest way for him to be an idiot. At least he didn’t lie about getting a vaccine and end up infecting the production. At least he walked away of his accord and took a f–ked up “stance” so that everyone knows what he’s all about. That’s how I feel about Kyrie Irving too: really, you’re going to refuse to get vaccinated as some kind of bold stance against intelligence, immunology and science?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Typical Trump supporter .
Sorta makes you question the guy’s intelligence. Hmmm.
a colleague of a friend just died of covid at 36, an anti-vaxxer to the end… she said he was a really nice guy and left behind a family… so unnecessary…
That is so sad. I am so sickened by people orphaning their children when it’s totally unnecessary. Over what? Propaganda and arrogance.
It is sad. Why die at 36 and leave a family behind to prove a point? Should this not show people how serious this is? Last year, I met a friend who was working at a hospital food services department and got approval to sit with patients who were EOA so they didn’t have to die alone. When she spoke of it, and the expression on her face changed it impressed on me how much death she saw. As a result she leapt at the chance to get the vaccine when it came out. We have a vaccine that lessons symptoms so you can get through it and people refuse to take it. It’s killing young healthy people and you have something that helps-I just can’t get my head around why people wouldn’t take the option that helps you recover.
It’s so scary, I can’t understand why so many are still banging on about “big pharmacies” and “government plots”… My daughter has been fighting her second bout of lymphoma; much more aggressive this time as she was already immunosuppressed. Her treatment started in March, and has included heavy doses of radiation and chemo, as well as several surgeries. There’s still no end in sight for her treatment. All our hospitals have had covid outbreaks, and for cancer patients, they need to visit the hospital for treatment, but hospital is now rge worst place for them. We have been quarantining for a year now, so the hard lockdowns – just lifted here in my state in Australia – didn’t really bother us. Her friends have been amazing, keeping her spirits up, and she has always been amazing.
Her best friend has five young children. They’ve had two scares in that family. The first one came from the preschool that her five-year-old twins attend. Recently her eldest son tested positive but was asymptomatic. She tested positive, as did her five-year-old daughter. She caught it from a neighbour she went with to walk their dogs. The friend had had her first jab vaccine. When her positive test came back she FaceTime to my daughter and said she felt absolutely great. Here is the scary bit: within an hour that strong healthy girl was in intensive care on a ventilator and the next message was chilling. “Oh, babe. I think I am going to die. You have been the most wonderful friend. I love you so much and I don’t want to leave you. I’m so scared for myself and my children…” The little girl was also in intensive care. Thankfully they are both okay now.
It happens so quickly and it happens to seemingly very healthy young people. How can these morons justify putting other people at risk? And not just strangers, but their own families and friends, too.
They are so wilfully ignorant that I wonder if they deliberately want to infect others. Being double-jabbed and being fully covered are two very different things. We have had the two jobs but there is still the possibility that one or both of us can contract Covid, because none of the available vaccines are 100% effective.
I’d love to throttle these cretins.
@ AnnaKist, I am so sorry to hear of your daughters struggle with lymphoma, again. I hope that she is able to recover and that she is able to stay strong during her treatments. I just lost my sister to cancer and it’s a terrible disease. My heart breaks for you and your family. I hope that when she is in treatment that she remains safe. I will be praying for you and your family.
Side note, I completely agree with you! I don’t understand the resistance from people who refuse to be vaccinated! It’s safe and it saves lives. I was reading over the weekend about how many children have become orphans, the number is staggering in the US alone. It’s unacceptable that those who should be vaccinated are still allowed to venture out in public places. I think that anti-vaccers should be placed in lockdown until they are vaccinated as they are ones causing the continued amount of infections and deaths. There have been multiple children that are perfectly healthy that die within days of becoming ill. The fact that they are screaming from the rooftops and attacking people about how their freedoms are more important is disgusting. I am sick and tired of these people who are assaulting teachers and HC workers because of their delusions. As for those who are professional football players or basketball players, they should be dropped. And parents who refuse to vaccinate their children can find alternative facilities to educate their children or homeschool.
What a complete moron. Does he think he’s proving some kind of point? He looks like a hero to idiots, and an idiot to everyone with a functioning brain.
I am so disgusted with antivaxers at this point. At this point a billion vaccine shots have been administered, they are as safe as any of the dozens of other vaccine shots we’ve all gotten. Antivaxers really think they are the main character of some kind of plot against humanity via vaccine. Ice Cube, you’re not special. It’s just a shot for crying out loud.
It’s really, really hard for many people to admit they’re wrong. The embarrassment they’d feel by admitting they had been spouting horseshit for months/years is just too much… they’d much rather double down.
And they haven’t died yet, plus their Facebook friends are on their side, so it really is easier to stick with their original stance, even if it’s painfully obvious that this hill they’ve decided to die on is crumbling around them.
Really must be nice to be able to afford to walk away from 9 million dollars. He’s been such a disappointment. I unfollowed him after
his dumb platinum plan stunt. Was largely absent from the election and getting people to register and has the nerve to show up 3 months before the election acting like he had all the answers. I do believe he is a trump supporter because rich people like him benefitted during his administration. There was also some shady sh@t with that basketball league he runs.
My understanding is that he never got involved in politics and never voted until he suddenly comes up with the platinum plan. I got into an argument with one of his idiot supporters on Twitter, who was equally ignorant of how politics worked but swore up and down that Cube knew what he was doing.
How are we still at this point? So many of us are vaccinated. It’s been long enough that we’ve been guinea pigs to these anti vaxxers. See? Nothing bad happened to us. Stop keeping us from moving forward. At this point I really think it’s just not wanting to admit they were wrong.
I’ve got one anti vaxxer in my friend group who now complains about not being able to do things like take her kids to a Broadway show because she refuses to get herself and her family vaxxed. Wah wah stop basing your health decisions on posts from loonies on Facebook (She does, seriously).
Guess he might meet up with Herman Cain in the afterlife if he wins the award. Antivax is such a stupid, foolish stance, especially when you see how much people with Covid suffer once they are hospitalized. And that suffering is so utterly preventable in most cases.
All these people against science need to stop using their cell phones, cars, TV, etc….. I mean if you don’t believe in science don’t use scientific advancements. But whatever.
@ Smegmoria : Love ❤️ it!
isn’t he also an anti-semite? yeah, eff him.
I have an anti-vaxxer in my family. She’s a Q believer, she’s sovereign or chosen or some such nonsense. I’m shocked, mostly because my sister, her spouse is immuno-compromised. But also because she was so liberal 5 years ago. She was A Hillary supporter. I don’t know how she got caught up in this cult.
We had to disinvite her from family get togethers because my elderly mom and my son are vulnerable. My niece also disinvited her from her wedding.
It’s creating a rift between the sibs. My other sister, the one who forced me to disinvite her from our Halloween party, cried. I never thought a person in my family could be so ignorant. I don’t see us coming back from this.
A family wedding also brought some hard decisions in my family, and some family members were disinvited due to their nonsense. Yes it’s creating rifts all over, and I’m sorry you’re going through it also.
I have family members who, before the pandemic, were involved in fund raising for a cure for our immunocompromised cousin with a genetic illness. Those same family members now proclaim “the vulnerable should stay safe and we will all go about our lives unvaccinated!”
Stay safe? That means our cousin should basically never leave the house, and never see those family members again, all because those family members think a nonsense conspiracy theory they heard from Tucker Carlson is more important than the health of a loved one. I don’t even know how to describe how nonsensical and arrogant and hurtful it all is (which is why this is a long rambling explanation lol). They have ripped our family in half basically. And these same guys were lining up for their dozens of shots when they joined the marines a decade ago. Now they won’t even take one simple shot, and won’t consider the well-being of their own flesh and blood. Incredibly asinine.
You and I sound like we are in the same broken family except the immunocompromised cousin is my child and the people who once acted like they loved them now can’t be bothered to do the right thing to keep them safe or even see them because they worship at the altar of Fox News and Jesus is their vaccine. They have also started to try and gaslight us into seeing them, like it’s our fault they haven’t in almost two years and we just need to get over it. They honestly don’t have any qualms about potentially spreading it to my child because they don’t believe they will since they have obviously already had it which to them means lifetime immunity right? They take absolutely no precautions and never have and live their life like normal. They have never once tried to compromise with us in order to see us but they want us to throw all of the safety measures we have been following out the window because they have a link to an article from some alt right website about why they aren’t plague rats. Well that’s not going to happen and I don’t see us ever being a part of the family again. The selfishness and superiority complex of these people has far surpassed what I even though was possible.
Social media. It’s a pretty fascinating read if you get a chance. It all has to do with algorithms and these sites only showing you info that you WANT to see, regardless if the info presented is true or not.
We have some colleagues we were shocked to discover are anti-vax. And they have been proclaiming they’re not anti-science at all, just anti-mandate. But they still won’t just go get the shots on their own, either, because then they’d be “giving in.” How can you answer that kind of twisted “logic”? These are not people who are low-IQ or low-information. It’s like someone switched out their personalities. They are now deeply disappointed in our social circle because they’ve been disinvited from holiday get-togethers. One is utterly fervent and the other goes along with it. We just have no idea what to say to them. I feel horribly for their kid.
We have 1 here who refused, and now gets full time WFM and not having to deal with any of the daily stuff the rest of us do at the office. Everyone has told him and his wife to get vaccinated, and they flat out refuse. I don’t know what short circuited in their brains, I never would have guessed they’d be that way.
Yeah my 21 year old nephew refuses to get vaxxed and his mother is immune-compromised. Wtf?
I told him he can’t visit with my infant daughter at least at a close distance right now unless he’s vaxxed. I can live with that but he can’t even visit with his own mom. Whyyyyy would you want that for yourself let alone your own mom?
Sorry to say but Ice Cube and Kyrie Irving can go eff themselves. They don’t want to get the vaccine? Fine. There are plenty of vaccinated actors and BB players who are vaccinated that could take their place. And yes, I get KI is talented, but he’s not the end all of talent. And he’s certainly replaceable if it means playing unvaccinated puts your teammates and the public at risk. I’ve no patience for Covid idiots — New York was hit hard by Covid and we’re still dealing with the after effects. I’m done with anti-vaxxers. Ship them all off to an island away from the rest of the world so they infect each other to their hearts content.
+1
So tired of this argument. Get the vaccine already. Tired.
I wish him all the swollen balls best.
Obviously, he hasn’t heard that COVID-19 can cause erectile dysfunction either.
People don’t trust what the government is saying; the government needed to focus on how best to assuage those fears. Seeing Anthony Fauci’s own grandchild get the vaccine would convince them more than anything he says. Many people still believe the government “rushed” out the vaccine; we needed a huge education effort explaining how it was researched extensively for other conditions before being adapted for Covid. It’s been a huge public awareness fiasco because they haven’t used enough creativity to win over the mistrustful. These are human beings, and they have a reason for acting the way they are. To condemn them as stupid is haughty. This is what we get when we don’t focus enough on education and we allow public misinformation to rule the airwaves and internet.
Nikki- Nice thought, but no amount of education is going to sway these people. They don’t believe anything you tell them. Explain that the vax technology was worked on for years and they still say, “but we haven’t seen the long term effects.” Show them Fauci’s grandkids getting vaxxed and they’ll just say it was saline solution.
These people live in their own reality. They have a belief system and way of thinking that is science-proof. More information won’t penetrate their bubble. They have been trained to distrust all of it and will twist logic into a pretzel to ignore or dismiss facts.
Agreed. A good friend–and I don’t know if she’s always been this way & just hid it, or if she’s changed once she retired & had more time to watch Fox News & read FB–but when I tried some basic facts with her she claimed she could find an equal number of ‘facts’ on the web saying the opposite, so I just gave up. Haven’t seen her in person for over a year & may not again for a good long while more.
I agree with you, in theory; but if someone won’t rely on common sense, what kind of educational campaign could possibly help?
Are you serious? These people do not believe ANYTHING good about the vaccine; they are lied to constantly by Fox, OAN, and NewsMax and gleefully believe every single word. We need to stop treating them like they are being potty-trained with bribes of money, free movie tickets, etc. I am done with every last one of these willful idiots. I live in a private house with a landlord who is one of these believers and have to wear a mask whenever I am in the hallway because she and all the other mouthbreathers she brings here refuse to wear a mask; and yes I am vaccinated but I worry about the breakthrough cases. I guess I’m haughty though, insert eye roll.
But Callie, that’s my point: they are being lied to constantly and believe every word. How did we come to this, where fake news is allowed and not prosecuted?
And very sorry you live with a bunch of anti-vaxxers…
Nikki – the anti vaxx person I personally know was like this before Covid. She started following this loony “nutritionist” on Facebook who says doctors and modern medicine are evil and claims that she cures cancer by messages she receives from God in her head. I have no idea how my friend got to this point. It has nothing to do with the government or her education. She chose to be misinformed by a rando on social media when the vaccines she now despises have loads of educational literature out there. She says she’s anti vaxx because and I quote “my body is already so amazing.”
“To condemn them as stupid is haughty.”
LOL. Then call me Madame Haughty. Spend 5 minutes on Google researching actual medical sources not “thevaccinemademydoggetleukemia.com” or similar sites. I’m so sick of the idea that these people who are holding our society hostage are the ones we need to feel sorry for. There have been NUMEROUS websites and studies and pamphlets disseminated to offset the ignorance. People choose not to read them anyway.
Really?
“We still don’t really know if he is MAGA”?
If someone walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, he is a duck! Red hat or not.
How nice for him that he can afford to walk away from $9MM.
That is all I have to say about him.
From a business point of view – of course a multi-million dollar film production would insist the stars be vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination. If they started production and he got covid and became ill or worse, the whole production would be in jeopardy. Even vaccinated people can become ill but usually, it’s much less of an issue.
That’s so stupid of him. I’m glad productions are being strict though, everyone working on that set has the right to be as safe as possible, and any shut down could cost millions.
I just don’t understand people. I just don’t get it. Get the f*cking vaccine so this pandemic can end you fools. Also, I was really disheartened during Halloween yesterday. I Live in a high Covid, low vaccination area. I didn’t give out candy this year, just like last year. I did, however, see kids walking by. No masks on any of them. No masks on the parents either. They were knocking on doors, inches from people’s faces asking for candy. These kids aren’t even eligible for the vaccine yet. No one cares. People are acting like the pandemic is over. The health unit here even warned parents to make sure their kids are wearing masks if they want to trick or treat, but you know parents always know better.
@ Me : I would have sent my kids out for Halloween but their costumes would have been kiddie sized hazmat suits. I would have said they were dressed as reactor workers from Chernobyl. They could have gotten their candy with one of those metal extenders with claws at the end.
Now that is a great idea !
He walked away because he could afford to do so. Ice Cube used to be the cool one from NWA, but in all stories about those guys is that they’re ally misogynists. I would be absolutely fine if he went away to count is money. I’m good, son.
His representatives should be quite upset…doesn’t him walking away from that kind of payday also affect their intake too? Selfish on so many levels, right? Refusing to get vaccinated, and basically undercutting his agents/managers that were involved in getting him this job.
Good point. If I were managing someone who refused, I’d drop them as a client. They’re not going to get much work if they aren’t meeting set guidelines and can’t get insured.
I am in Canada where everyone but a few I know are vaxxed. One friend is vaccine delayed. She won’t get the vaccine until she is 2nd trimester; she isn’t pregnant yet!! Her friend did just this and got the vaccine at 6 months, so she is following suit. She now says her doctor told her this about the 2nd trimester, which feels like total lies. Since she has eating issues (restrictive eating) I fear she may have trouble getting pregnant and this may linger a long time. Because we are in Ontario, we are limited to patios and going into stores (where there is an enforced mask mandate) to meet up. With winter coming, I probably won’t see her until the spring, after our next shopping trip. She is a 34 year old woman that is restricting her life. It is mind boggling.
My brother and I have had a longstanding debate since the 80s over which rap group was better, NWA or Public Enemy. I preferred PE and Chuck D is a brilliant artist who is on the right side of history. His lyrics are thought provoking and intelligent. While members of NWA, well, they continue to prove how shitty they are. Sick of their misogyny and now this bullsh*t. Ice Cube can piss off!
It has been so interesting watching these types of people just defund … themselves. I am sure there are many people who will be able to fill his shoes, and those of the NYPD/FDNY/antivax-nurses, etc who refuse to abide by vaccine requirements.
Aw, man, here they are again! The consequences of my own actions!
Republicans are the biggest whiners, self-victimizers, and ultimately, projectionists.
I don’t understand this death cult. I’m from small town KS and a guy a few years older than me (I think late 30s) from my hometown has been in a coma for over six weeks, had a Tracheotomy to help him breathe, lungs are failing, etc. His wife is begging for $$ on go fund me to support her (who has MS) and the two kids. Of course the idiots are anti vax and aren’t even smart enough to take down all his Facebook anti vax posts making fun of people who are vaccinated. I kind of want to comment “so I guess the anti vax stuff didn’t work out” but trying not to be a huge a hole. I have zero sympathy for these idiots. It’s sad for the kids but clearly these parents have a death wish and want to die or be permanently disabled if the guy survives. I’m not giving one penny to these hateful people. They refuse a vaccine but then expect the strained hospitals and staff to sink every resource they can into them. They can fuck off and need to stay home and let nature take its course as far as I’m concerned.
Make room on the Don’t Want to Be An A*Hole But Couch for me. I’d rather give money to someone who was vaccinated and became deathly ill or died because of a breakthrough case. Almost two years of covid has dried up my compassion well.
He’s a bigoted sexist inhumane individual and that was BEFORE Covid…
#ByeFelicia This is pathetic and tragic, but my real question is who the heck thinks ice cube is worth 9 million dollars?? 🤣🤣🤣
I cannot stand Ice Cube! I’m happy to not see him in another movie and his film career go bye, bye . After Kobe (yes problematic) and Nipsey’s passing, I feel a lot of celebs (actors, athletes and rappers) are trying to become the next martyr – but on the wrong side of history. Cube especially been trash since that bs “plan” and the MAGA-ish stuff. As did Dave Chappell (walked away from 50 mil) Cube is at it again but about 41mil short. There is not an authentic bone in this man’s body so let’s see how 9mils he “walks away” from.
Ice Cube isn’t irreplaceable. There are some talented people out there who can take on his part and do fabulous things with it.
I just saw a great PSA with a black doctor telling the black community to get vaccinated. I wish more role models, both men and women, would get that message out. I’m really pissed at people like Cube who are giving the wrong example and bringing death to their communities for NO DAMN REASON.
I have underlying health issues, including being overweight which the majority of covid fatalities are. Now that a booster for mederna is approved, I have myself an appointment. I’d be all for it anyway but I feel there’s more of an imperative because we have to guard against antivaxx people.