Ice Cube has claimed his co-star Chris Tucker rejected an appearance in the sequel to the 1995 film Friday, which would have earned him between $10 - $12 million.
Actor and comedian Tucker, who is now 50, played Smokey in the original 1995 film Friday, which Ice Cube - real name O'Shea Jackson - co-wrote and starred in.
But when its follow-up film Next Friday was released in 2000, Tucker no longer wanted to be a part of the franchise due to 'religious reasons'.
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Well, Ice Cube has now admitted this was the case in a recent Twitter thread, where he was seen to be defending himself over the actors’ salaries for the 1995 original.
Later on in the feed, he responded to a tweet which simply said: "I thought I heard chris tucker quit over money."
The rapper replied: “We were ready to pay Chris Tucker $10-12m to do Next Friday but he turned us down for religious reasons. He didn’t want to cuss or smoke weed on camera anymore.”
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Tucker — who is known for featuring in Money Talks and in the Rush Hour series — has spoken about his Christian faith before.
In 2014, he told The Georgia Straight that he chooses to keep his language clean during comedy performances for this reason.
Ice Cube’s admission about Tucker comes after Faizon Love — who played Big Worm in Friday — is believed to have been paid less than he was due for his part in the film. He was reportedly paid a $2,500 (£1,854) salary for his role.
Addressing the backlash on social media, where he was described as 'short-changing' the cast and 'robbing his own people', Ice Cube simply said: “I didn’t rob no f*****g body.
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"The 1995 Friday movie cost $2.3m to make. Shot it in 20 days. Fazion worked 1 day, maybe 2. All the actors got paid scale to do the movie.
They could’ve simple said 'No' but they didn’t. So miss me with that s**t."
Love felt he needed to address the topic too, which was now creating quite the social media storm.
He took to Instagram to post an old selfie with Ice Cube and wrote: “I not only consider Ice Cube a comrade but my brother and I’m still a fan.
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“Let me say what I got paid is a moot point, it was the price of admission to a game. I have zero regrets.
"I want to take this time to thank Cube, Dj Pooh and Felix Gary Grey for letting me be [a part] of such an iconic picture."
Words by: Dom Smith
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: TV and Film, Celebrity, US News
