BeBe Drake has a 4-word explanation for rejecting Ice Cube’s request for her "Friday After Next" character to smoke cigarettes

BeBe Drake, the actress who played Ms. Pearly in the 2002 stoner comedy movie, Friday Next After, was recently invited as a guest on Big Court's podcast, Holdin Court.

In the episode, which went live on Thursday, January 16, the host asked BeBe Drake - originally named Beatrice Drake - about the formulation of Ms. Pearly's character in the 2002 movie.

Recounting the story behind the character, Drake shared that her character was expected to smoke cigarettes in the film, which she rejected, explaining:

"I had lung cancer."

Per the YouTube podcast, the conversation between Big Court and Bebe Drake went on for nearly two hours, during which they touched upon various subjects, including childhood racism, meeting Ice Cube, and shooting a hilarious table scene with Eddie Murphy and John Witherspoon for her 1992 film, Boomerang.

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BeBe Drake shared that she smoked for 30 years before her lung cancer diagnosis

Elaborating on her character from Friday After Next, BeBe Drake told Big Court:

"Ice Cube said, 'I see Ms. Pearly with a long cigarette, and I want the ash to be this long, hanging out at the side of your lip' and I was dead against smoking. I smoked for 30 years until I got lung cancer. I'm one of the few to have survived it. Thank God it was concentrated in the bottom right lobe, which they completely removed. And I had the chemo, the whole bit."

Despite her unwillingness to smoke for the character of Ms. Pearly, BeBe Drake still bagged the role by telling Ice Cube:

"So I told him, I said, 'Listen, I had lung cancer, I'm not gonna smoke cigarette, so you gotta let me just do the character, and I guarantee you, you won't miss the cigarette'."

Ice Cube, who plays Craig Jones - the protagonist - in Friday After Next, was also the writer of the movie.

Plot of Friday After Next

The plot of the movie revolves around Craig and his cousin Day-Day (played by Mike Epps), who share an apartment. On the morning of Christmas Eve, their apartment is robbed by a robber posing as Santa Claus, who steals not only their Christmas presents but also their rent money.

The cousins are visited by their landlady, Ms. Pearly (played by BeBe Drake) later in the day, who threatens to throw them out if their rent isn't paid by the end of the day.

Worried about arranging the rent money, the duo go to their job as security guards at a shopping center, where they have quite the eventful day, getting fired by lunchtime through no fault of their own.

However, as they're in the middle of their Christmas Eve party in the evening, things come together chaotically when they cross paths with the supposed Santa Clause robber.

In the end, the party Craig and Day-Day throw before Christmas is successful, with their rent money safely returned to them and the threat of eviction by Ms. Pearly averted. The movie ends with Graig and Donna getting together after the party, while Day-Day gets involved with the two girls of his ex-boss, Pinky.

After Friday After Next, BeBe Drake went on to act in movies like Wild Hogs (2007) and Influence (2020). The actress has also made guest appearances in multiple TV series, including The Love Boat, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Highway to Heaven, Thirtysomething, The Jamie Foxx Show, The Bernie Mac Show, The Steve Harvey Show, and The Parent 'Hood.

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In addition to BeBe Drake, recent guests on Big Court's podcast include Rachel Renee, Z-Ro, Tank, First Degree, Loki, AD, X-Raided, and Natasha Graziano.