Rapper Ice Cube revealed in a new interview that children’s TV icon Fred Rogers once sued him for using part of the theme song from his show, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.
Ice Cube's track, "A Gangsta’s Fairytale," was released in 1990 on his first solo album titled "AmeriKKKA’s Most Wanted." The musician was not expecting Fred to take legal action.
"I actually wrote this for Eazy-E. But y’all know what it is, we wasn’t getting down at the time so I had to take it myself," Cube said during an Instagram Live listening party Wednesday, according to
Fox News.
“It’s a trip. Because, off this song, Mr. Rogers sued us. He was mad because we had the 'Mister Rogers' theme at the beginning of this s---. 'It’s a Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood' and all that."
Ice Cube added that Rogers was "getting like five cents a record until we took that part off."
"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" aired on PBS from 1968 to 2001. Three years after its run, Fred died at age 74 from stomach cancer. Now the host of the beloved children's show is the subject of a new biographical drama, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," which stars Tom Hanks, who Fred regarded highly.
Joanne Rogers was
full of praise for Hank's portrayal of her late husband.
"One of the most wonderful things about this film is that Tom Hanks is playing Fred Rogers. Fred Rogers was a huge fan of Tom Hanks," Joanne said in an interview with
People. "I think he would like this very much," she said of Hanks' performance. "There's a wonderful energy there. It's a very needful film right now."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.