Ice Cube recently shared he walked away from a huge paycheck due to a decision he’d made at the height of the pandemic: refusing to get a COVDI-19 vaccine.
“I turned down a movie because I didn’t wanna get the motherf—king jab,” the actor/producer said on a November 21 episode of the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast. “I turned down $9 million because I didn’t want to get the jab. F—k that jab, and f—k y’all for trying to make me get it. I don’t know how Hollywood feel about me right now.”
He continued “I didn’t turn [$9 million] down. Them motherf—kers wouldn’t give it to me because I wouldn’t get the shot. I didn’t turn it down. They just didn’t give it to me.”
It’s reported that the opportunity he’s alluding to was the upcoming Jack Black film Oh Hell No.
Ice Cube joins stars like Brooklyn Nets phenom, Kyrie Irving and Nicki Minaj who have been open about their concerns regarding the vaccination, and have subsequently lost out of lucrative deals for refusing to get it.
For instance, back in 2021, the New York Times reported that Irving stood to lost up to $380,000 if he didn’t get the required vaccination to play that season.
Since Ice Cube’s refusal, many states have lifted the vaccination mandate since reaching herd immunity status.
The Center for Disease Control has also ensured that the “vaccines are safe and effective” and “recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone 6 months and older and boosters for everyone 5 years and older, if eligible.” They alo also point out that “COVID-19 vaccination significantly lowers your risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death if you get infected.”