Ice Cube walks out of film because of COVID-19 vax requirement

American rapper-turned-actor O’Shea Jackson Sr, aka Ice Cube, has departed from Sony’s upcoming comedy, ‘Oh Hell No’, in which he would have co-starred with Jack Black, after declining a request from the producers to get vaccinated, The Hollywood Reporter said, quoting sources.

None of the parties involved, however, offered a comment either confirming, or denying the news. Ice Cube, who reportedly had been signed up for the movie for $9 million, and Black partnered on the project in June. Shooting for the Sony film was to begin this winter in Hawaii with Kitao Sakurai, the filmmaker behind Netflix’s breakout comedy ‘Bad Trip’, in the director’s seat.

Ice Cube’s move is an expression of the pushback to the latest requirement for Hollywood cast and crew mandated in July. It has become an issue that threatens multiple projects. ‘Oh Hell No’ producers made the request that those cast on the project would need to be vaccinated.

‘Oh Hell No’, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is the second project that Ice Cube has left in recent months. He was to have co-starred in the boxing movie ‘Flint Strong’, but is no longer involved. It’s unclear what circumstances prompted the departure.

According to latest numbers, nearly five million people have died from the virus, even as death rates slow thanks to a global vaccine rollout that has seen billions injected.