Having previously signed a contract to appear in the Sony Pictures comedy film entitled Oh Hell No, Ice Cube (XXX: State of the Union) eventually had to part with the project due to disagreements over vaccination. According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the rapper and actor was given a request from producers to be vaccinated to be allowed onto the set, but he opted out of the film after refusing to do so. However, until now, neither Sony nor representatives from Ice Cube have made official comments on the news.
Ice Cube was supposed to star in the movie Oh Hell No together with Jack Black (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle). Black is also producing the film with Matt Tolmach and Kitao Sakurai (Bad Trip) directing. The plan is to begin filming this winter in Hawaii, and there are mandate reports submitted by producers that everyone involved with the project needs to be vaccinated.
Now that the Ice Cube is out, Oh Hell No will delay production until a new star can fill the lead role alongside Jack Black. It’s been reported that Cube was supposed to be earning $9 million to star in the film, and his departure has also led to speculation about why he’s also leaving the upcoming Flint Strong boxing project.
This move may come as a surprise to some, as Ice Cube is a celebrity who has been quite vocal in the campaign to wear a mask and stay safe during the start of the pandemic. Even in April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, he launched a T-shirt branded “Check Yo Self Before You Wreck Yo Self”, which featured himself wearing a mask, in collaboration with the producer Black Out, with the proceeds from the sale of the product. given to front-line medical personnel.
Vaccination among stars and crew in Hollywood has been a problem in many projects. An agreement between the union and studios, unveiled in July, stated producers would have the option “to implement a mandatory vaccination policy for cast and crew in Zone A” — where cast and crew work in close quarters — “on a production-by-production basis.”
