The rapper turned actor Ice Cube aka O’Shea Jackson Sr. has caught some bad press lately. It started with Fazion Love saying he turned down a sequel because he’d only make $5,000 for it, after only making $2,500 for the first film. Ice Cube tweeted his defense of the accusation of underpaying actors like Chris Tucker. He said actors were paid according to production costs. The rapper immediately denounced not offering Tucker enough money. Instead, he said that Tucker turned down the role for religious reasons and didn’t want to smoke marijuana on camera. Chris Tucker has even stated that he wanted to distance himself from people smoking weed in movies. This all comes after Ice Cube’s fight for the rights of Last Friday with Warner Brothers. He has been trying to retain creative control over his Friday movies from Warner Brothers for several years now.
The Bad Press Adds to the Troubles of Last Friday
The first Friday movie was released in 1995 and cost $2.3 million to make. It was shot in 20 days and grossed $27 million dollars. In Ice Cube’s defense, he said Faizon worked one or two days and was paid for his time there. The Friday franchise made good money for Warner Brothers, no wonder they are giving Ice Cube such a hard time. Not only does the rapper have to defend himself against accusations, but is enduring an ongoing legal battle with the media giant. AJ Johnson, who played Ezal in the Friday movies, passed away last September. Ice Cube mourned his loss and expressed his regret he didn’t get to bring the actor back for Last Friday. John Witherspoon, who played Ice Cube’s character’s father in the movies, passed back in 2019.
The decade-long legal battle with Warner Brothers and claims against are just part of the uphill battle that Ice Cube faces trying to get Last Friday off the ground.
