Faizon Love is clearing the air after his comments about how much he was paid to appear in Friday went viral. As reported by REVOLT, Love, who starred as Big Worm in the 1995 cult comedy; told the Atlanta Black Star he was only paid $2,500 to appear in the film, which led him to turn down a role in the franchise’s sequel, Next Friday.
As a result, Friday fans accused Ice Cube, who co-wrote and executive produced the film, of underpaying its actors. However, Love and other franchise stars have since come to his defense.
On Wednesday evening (Dec. 29), Love took to Instagram to clarify that even though he thought he was underpaid for his Friday role, he has nothing but love for Cube.
“First of all I not only consider Ice Cube a comrade, but my brother and I’m still a fan,” Love captioned a photo of himself with the N.W.A. rapper. “I think he’s one of the dopest n***as to ever touch a mic. I guess it’s a slow news week, so let me say what I got paid is a moot point, it was the price of admission to a game. I have zero regrets. Actually, I want to take this time to thank Cube, DJ Pooh and Felix Gary Grey for letting me be apart of such an iconic picture. I truly have nothing but love For these brothers.”
On Twitter, Cube also re-posted Love’s message, letting fans know it’s all good between the two stars.
As reported, Cube clarified earlier on Wednesday that he didn’t “rob” any of the Friday actors and explained the film’s budget.
“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,” he tweeted. “They could’ve simply said ‘No,’ but they didn’t. So, miss me with that shit.”
Cube also refuted claims that Chris Tucker left the franchise due to pay, as it was previously revealed he only earned $10,000 for his role as Smokey. Cube said the actor was offered $10 to $12 million to reprise his role in Next Friday, but refused due to “religious reasons.”
On Wednesday, comedian Michael Blackson also defended Cube.
“Ice Cube is not to blame for us getting paid so little,” he tweeted. “It’s the film industry’s pay scale. I got paid $800 a day when I did Next Friday plus overtime. I made $1200 for my one day’s work of ‘I can’t get giggy with this shit.’ Thanks to Next Friday I became the biggest African comic.”
See Faizon Love’s Instagram post and Ice Cube’s retweet below.