Ice Cube Explains Why Chris Tucker Turned Down ‘Next Friday’

Ice Cube and Chris Tucker in Friday (Credit: New Line Cinema)

Ice Cube is firing back at critics claiming he didn’t pay his Friday cast enough money, and clearing up why co-star Chris Tucker turned down a role in the sequel Next Friday.

The rapper and actor responded on Twitter to comments about a Tuesday article saying cast member Faizon Love made just $2,500 for the first Friday film.  Ice Cube said the actors were paid the union minimum.

I didn’t rob no f—in body. The 1995 Friday movie cost $2.3m to make. Shot it in 20 days. Faizon worked 1 day, maybe 2. All the actors got paid scale to do the movie. They could’ve simply said ‘No’ but they didn’t. So miss me with that sh–,” he wrote Wednesday on Twitter.

Social media user @samh8876 replied back: “I thought I heard Chris Tucker quit over money.”

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Ice Cube responded by tweeting: “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.”

DJ Pooh, the rapper and producer who co-write the script for the iconic Friday movie alongside Ice Cube, also chimed in on the conversation. “A springboard for many careers,” DJ Pooh tweeted back. 

Back in November, Tucker confirmed to All Urban Central that he didn’t “want everybody smoking weed” and he “didn’t want to keep doing that character.”

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Earlier this year, Tucker revealed on a podcast that he was paid $10,000 for his role in the stoner comedy. 

Instead of Tucker, 2000’s Next Friday tapped Mike Epps as Day-Day, the sidekick to Ice Cube’s Craig Jones character. The sequel was followed by Friday After Next.

A fourth film, Last Friday, has been teased for some time and rumors are that it is currently in the works.


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