Friday is a cultural phenomenon. Despite the 1995 buddy comedy stoner film having a budget of over $3 million, it grossed over $27 million at the box office and became a notable franchise with subsequent releases including Next Friday, Friday After Next, and more. The sequels did not earn the strongest reviews though, which could be because of Chris Tucker quitting the franchise after the first film.
This week, Ice Cube is speaking out about Chris Tucker’s departure from the film series, explaining the real reason why he turned down a spot in Next Friday after it was rumored that he quit because of money.
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After Faizon Love, who plays Big Worm in Friday, revealed that he turned down a role in the sequel after only making $2,500 from the original, Ice Cube argued that he didn’t “rob” any of the actors in the movie, as some fans have suggested.
“I didn’t rob no fuckin body,” said Cube on Twitter. “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 shit.”
When somebody responded to that post by saying they thought Chris Tucker quit Next Friday over money, Cube responded that that isn’t the case.
“We were ready to pay Chris Tucker $10-12m to do Next Friday but he turned us down for religious reasons,” said Cube. “He didn’t want to cuss or smoke weed on camera anymore.”
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What do you think of Chris Tucker allegedly leaving the Friday franchise over his religious beliefs?