Ice Cube has been accused of being a “sellout” once again for sitting down for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Cube drove through his former stomping grounds of South Central Los Angeles with Carlson on Tuesday (July 25) as they delved into an array of hot-button political topics including Barack Obama’s presidency, Black Lives Matter and the COVID-19 vaccine.
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“I don’t believe in politicians,” the West Coast rap legend stated when asked if he’s ever donated to a political campaign. “Politicians have hidden agendas. They owe a lot of people a lot of favors. The more money you give them, the more you’re listened to.”
Ice Cube said he was proud to see Obama get elected as President of the United States in 2008 as he “didn’t think America would ever take that step” — but his enthusiasm didn’t last.
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“I didn’t think they would do that, so that was a moment in time,” he said. “But then you look around and years go by and not much changed for people I know, people I care about… At the end of the day, it’s still the same results.”
Carlson also asked the former N.W.A member why he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine while filming the movie Oh Hell No (which he subsequently quit).
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“I’m not real good with direct orders,” he replied. “It wasn’t ready. It was a 6-month rush job and I didn’t feel safe … There’s no repercussions if they’re wrong, but I get all the repercussions if they’re wrong.”
He added: “It wasn’t a tough call. I wanted to be an example for my kids and really make sure that they wouldn’t take it either, show them that I want to stand on my convictions and I was willing to lose $9 million and more.”
As for Black Lives Matter, Ice Cube raised questions about the sizeable donations the organizations received following George Floyd’s death in 2020 and the subsequent riots across the U.S.
“Whenever you do that, most of the time it’s a lot of people siphoning that money off the top,” he said. “And the kicker is, a lot of people say they’re gonna give the money, but they don’t even give the money. They just get the article wrote, everybody think they’re great and they never even give the money.”
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Fans were not happy to see Cube sit down with the controversial host for an interview, and flocked to social media to express their disappointment at the rap veteran.
“Ice Cube has become the sellout Black man that he always warned us about,” one critic wrote on Twitter.
Another added: “Ice Cube has lost his got damn mind. He let Tucker Carlson guide him w/loaded questions into taking shots at Obama, BLM&COVID vaccines, while Tucker sat there goading him&giggling. I used2think Cube was smart but he’s dumb as hell. He let Tucker use him in a big way. Dude is lost.”
The interview comes shortly after Ice Cube faced similar backlash for meeting with politician Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaxxer.
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While Cube has yet to respond to the negative reactions over his Tucker Carlson interview, he didn’t hold back when firing back at critics over his RFK Jr. photo.
“For all the simple minded short bus people out there. A picture is not an endorsement, dummy,” he snarled on Twitter. “Now get your ass over to bungalow 51 and STFU.”
Check out reactions to Cube’s Tucker Carlson interview below:
