Ice Cube has reportedly left a movie role worth $9million (£6.6million) after refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine.
According to reports from The Hollywood Reporter, the actor and hip-hop star, whose real name is O’Shea Jackson, declined a request from producers to get vaccinated before production began on comedy film Oh Hell No.
The 52-year-old had been due to star opposite Jack Black in the upcoming Sony project, due to begin shooting in Hawaii this winter, the first state in the US to have 90 percent of its population aged 12 or over vaccinated against Covid-19.
Producers had requested that the cast be vaccinated, something Ice Cube is said to have refused.
He had been due to make a reported $9million (£6.6million) from the role, with sources claiming the studio is currently looking for a replacement.
Ice Cube has voiced his support for mask-wearing since the pandemic began, having donated 2,000 face masks to Bacone College in Oklahoma in August.
He had also created his own ‘Check yo self before you wreck yo self’ T-shirts in April 2020 which featured a photo of him in a mask, with profits going to help frontline workers.
Vaccine mandates have caused issues on several productions in Hollywood, with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and industry guilds including SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, The DGA, and Teamsters agreeing to ease protocols for fully vaccinated cast and crew in June.
The agreement states that producers have the option ‘to implement mandatory vaccination policies for casts and crew in Zone A on a production-by-production basis’ for cast and crew who are required to work in close proximity to one another.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Ice Cube’s reps for comment.
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