Ice Cube says Chris Tucker opted out of a $10-12m deal for the sequel of ‘Friday’ due to religion

Ice Cube claimed that comedian Chris Tucker, his co-star in the 1995 film Friday, opted out of an appearance in the sequel film, which would have garnered him $10-$12m.

Tucker portrayed the character Smokey in the original film, which Ice Cube happened to co-write and star in.

But in 2000, when Next Friday, the sequel to the original was released, Tucker didn’t want to be a part of it anymore due to “religious reasons.”

In a Twitter thread on Wednesday, Ice Cube revealed that this was the truth.

He also appeared to defend himself over the actors’ salaries in the original.

After someone tweeted to Ice Cube, “I thought I heard chris tucker quit over money,” the rapper responded with the following:

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Tucker, who is well-known for the Rush Hour films and Money Talks has been open about his Christian faith.

In a 2014 interview with The Georgia Straight, Tucker noted that he chose to keep his comedy performances clean and that being a Christian is helpful for him in his “comedy.”

“I have to talk about other stuff. Normally, most comics talk about stuff that’s easy—maybe cussing or saying something raunchy. I have to dig deeper to find something that’s still funny and not raunchy. It’s harder. I like the challenge,” he told the outlet.

Ice Cube’s admission on Twitter about Tucker comes after Faizon Love - who portrayed the character of Big Worm in Friday - is suspected of having been paid less for his role in the film.

Love was reportedly paid $2,500 (£1,854) for the film.

Social media believed Ice Cube was “short-changing” the cast “robbing his own people,” which prompted him to hit back with a response.

“I didn’t rob no f****** 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,” Ice Cube said in part.

Love took to his Instagram to post a picture of himself with Ice Cube. He also addressed the situation, calling the rapper a “comrade” and a “brother.”

“First of all, I not only consider Ice Cube a comrade but my brother and I’m still a fan. I think he’s one of the dopest n***** to ever touch a mic …what I got paid is a moot point. It was the price of admission to a game,” Love wrote.

He continued: I have zero regrets. Actually, 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.”