The ninth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise was recently pushed back to April 10th, 2020 and that decision has apparently led Tyrese Gibson to threaten to leave the series.
As Entertainment Weekly reports, Gibson took to Instagram to say “I’m sorry to announce that if Dwayne [“The Rock” Johnson”] is in Fast9, there will no more Roman Pierce.” The rapper turned actor went on to call his colleague a “clown” and a “CandyAssBitch.” Gibson added “You mess with family and my daughter’s survival, I mess with yours.”
The drama reportedly started back in September when Gibson became upset with rumors that Fast and Furious 9 could be delayed to make way for spin-off movie staring Johnson and Jason Statham. Last month, reports surfaced that the movie was green lighted and scheduled to be released on July 26th, 2019.
This appears to have upset Gibson who said in an earlier Instagram post that “I was never mad at The Rock – I was just mad that he was ‘pitched’ an idea privately and said yes to it without thinking of what I’m dealing with personally.” He added “I’m almost broke paying legal fees” and Entertainment Weekly notes the actor is fighting his ex-wife for custody of his daughter. AV Club speculates the decision to delay FF9 means Gibson won’t be getting paid as planned and this has put extra pressure on the actor.
It remains unclear if Gibson is seriously considering leaving the franchise but it should be noted he isn’t the only one who has threatened to quit. Earlier this year, Michelle Rodriguez hinted she might leave the Fast and Furious family if the next movie doesn’t “show some love to the women of the franchise.”