10 Shocking Reasons Actors Quit Movies
2. Needing To Get A COVID Vaccine - Ice Cube (Stepdude)
In 2021, Ice Cube was signed to star opposite Jack Black in the comedy then-titled Oh Hell No - later renamed "Stepdude" - but as production was readying to begin by year's end, it was reported that Cube left the project after producers requested that all cast members be vaccinated against COVID-19.
By his own admission, Cube lost out on a $9 million payday by refusing to get the vaccine, and in a 2022 podcast interview remained defiant about his choice, saying:
"F**k that jab, and f**k y’all for trying to make me get it. I don’t know how Hollywood feel about me right now."
Though producers swiftly began seeking a replacement, one still hasn't been announced more than two and a half years later, suggesting Cube's exit may ultimately have consigned the project to development hell.
Unsurprisingly, Cube's refusal to get the jab didn't elicit too much sympathy online, given that vaccine mandates were commonplace in Hollywood until 2023 for very understandable reasons.