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Ice Cube Dragged After Pulling Out Of $9 Million Movie Deal Because He Refused COVID Vaccine

Ice Cube Dragged After Pulling Out Of $9 Million Movie Deal Because He Refused COVID Vaccine
Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

For some celebrities making a stand in support of what they strongly believe in, it's not always about the money.

Actor and rapper Ice Cube reportedly dropped out of a $9 million movie deal and a winter in Hawaii because he refused to get a COVID vaccine as mandated by the production's cast and crew.


According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Friday star departed from Sony's upcoming comedy film Oh Hell No—produced by Matt Tolmach and the film's co-star Jack Black—after refusing a request from producers to get vaccinated.


 

Production on the film was to start this winter in Hawaii with director Kitao Sakurai—the filmmaker who recently found success with Netflix's Bad Trip—after the rapper and Black decided to team up back in June.

But when Black injured himself filming a stunt for Conan that same month, production on Oh Hell No came to a halt.

Sources told the media outlet producers are looking for Ice Cube's replacement after his refusal to cooperate with the vaccine mandate.

Twitter users did not hold back when speaking out against the rapper.


 


 


 


 


Ice Cube had been a strong advocate for wearing masks throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August, Bacone College in Oklahoma thanked the actor for donating 2,000 face masks, saying his philanthropy helped students, faculty, and staff "protect themselves and one another during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."

The star also launched a "Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self" brand of T-shirts to sell in April 2020, with proceeds benefitting front-of-line healthcare workers.

Oh Hell No is the second film Ice Cube dropped out of. He would have co-starred in the boxing movie, Flint Strong, but is no longer involved.

The Hollywood Reporter said the circumstances leading to his departure from the film were unclear.


 


 


Vaccination has become a problematic issue among cast and crew on a number of Hollywood productions ever since a tentative, short-term agreement between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and industry guilds—including SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, the DGA, and the Teamsters—was unveiled in July.

The agreement stated producers would have the option to "implement mandatory vaccination policies for casts and crew in Zone A on a production-by-production basis."

Sets are divided into different "zones" corresponding to the proximity of actors to different levels of protection under current safety protocols.

Zone A is an area on set where cast and crew typically work in close proximity without personal protection equipment.


 


Ice Cube and Sony did not respond after the Huffington Post for confirmation and comment.

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