"Has been rapper sellout": Ice Cube Republican trends as rapper's Covid-19 vaccine remarks in Tucker Carlson interview go viral

During a recent interview, rapper Ice Cube said that Hollywood allegedly denied him a once-in-a-lifetime film role worth nine million dollars, for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine. He was in conversation with conservative political commentator and Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson in the back of his own car as it drove around his hometown Los Angeles.

The 53-year-old rap artist may have been referring to being dropped from the cast of the comedy film Oh Hell No, directed by Kitao Sakurai and produced by Sony.

“I wanted to be an example for my kids. Make sure they didn’t take it either. I was willing to stand on my own convictions,” said the rapper.

As soon as the footage of the interview went viral, netizens began mocking the rap artist for his anti-vaccine remarks, making him trend on Twitter. One user even called him out by writing:

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Twitteratti ridicules Rapper Ice Cube on his latest anti-Covid vaccine remarks

During a drive in rapper Ice Cube’s car around South Central Los Angeles, Tucker Carlson got the opportunity to interview him. One of the topics they discussed was the Covid-19 vaccine. Ice Cube went on record to say that he refused to get vaccinated against coronavirus, as he felt that the science was too experimental. He also mentioned how the decision cost him an expensive film role.

In fact, in November 2022, during his appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Ice Cube told hosts Gillie Da Kid and Wallo267 that he was supposed to star alongside Jack Black in the film Oh Hell No, but was dropped at the last minute as he refused to get jabbed and Sony needed all cast and crew members to get film in Hawaii.

In reference to the same, Ice Cube told Carlson on Tuesday that he never wanted to “become the poster child for the anti-vax movement,” nor did he “want to be controlled.” When Carlson asked him the reason behind refusing to get jabbed, Ice Cube clarified:

“It wasn’t ready. It was six months, a kind of rush job. And I didn’t feel safe.”

The rapper also clarified how the decision wasn’t that difficult, despite the loss of money, as he wanted to be an example for his kids and make sure that they didn’t opt to get vaccinated either.

Later, when Carlson showed him a clipping from Saturday Night Live where the rapper allegedly joked about the vaccine, he defended himself by saying:

“I never told anyone not to get vaccinated, publicly. That was never my message to the world.”

He further added how he didn’t even want people to know whether he got jabbed or not and was pretty upset when the news was leaked by the press:

“I was just going to quietly not take it and deal with the consequences as they came.”

When asked by Carlson whether he personally knew anyone who had been “adversely affected by the Covid-19 vaccine,” the rapper nodded in the affirmative and said how they continued to suffer every day and it was hard for him to watch.

As soon as the video of Ice Cube-Tucker Carlson interview surfaced on Twitter, netizens immediately began calling out the rapper for his anti-vaccine stand with the hashtag #IceCubeRepublican trending. Some even slammed the rapper for hanging out with Carlson.

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What else did they discuss in the interview?

What’s interesting is that the conversation didn’t end with the Covid-19 vaccine. In fact, things turned political, as Carlson asked the rap artist whether he supported any particular political figure. Ice Cube said in response:

“I don’t believe in politicians. Politicians have hidden agendas. The more money you give them, the more they listen to you. Politicians only really pay attention to the people who give them money.”

However, he also mentioned how he was hopeful about Barack Obama’s presidency as he thought it would bring about significant changes for Black America, but now that years have gone by, he could see not much has changed.

Earlier, in October 2020, the rapper drew criticism for working with the Donald Trump campaign to bring out the black vote. Later, however, he clarified how he approached both Republicans and Democrats for the same purpose, but it was the former who let him in.

The interview also had Ice Cube ask Carlson whether he was vaccinated, to which the latter jokingly said he was not. Carlson implied how the vaccine was promoted to be safe but it wasn’t, to which the rapper agreed, saying that if the repercussions of the vaccine were wrong, only people who get it will suffer.