While celebrating National Ice Tea Day with Raising Cane’s, rapper and “Law & Order” star Ice T reflects on mental health and fatherhood.
Who knew June 10 was National Iced Tea Day? Well, today Ice T pulled up to Raising Cane’s to celebrate the beverage’s holiday, but the conversation went deeper than sweet drinks and crispy chicken (though that was a major topic of conversation). In a conversation with theGrio, the hip-hop legend turned actor also opened up about the importance of mental health, especially amongst Black men.
“Black men, we have the biggest egos about health in general…We’re strong. We don’t go to the doctor. We don’t take care of ourselves until it’s usually too late,” he told theGrio. “I had a friend, Chino XL, commit suicide recently, and I always was just like, ‘Man, why didn’t you call me?’”
Admitting that he is still working on opening up to his circle, the 67-year-old advised all men to get a friend that they can call and just talk to.
“We’re afraid to talk to people because we never know if that friend’s gonna turn on you and throw that personal stuff back at you. So all humans are afraid to share their innermost feelings with other people,” he said, explaining how he and his friends are gradually building the habit of calling each other and just saying “Yo, I need to vent.”
“I think we carry a lot of stress, and, I’ve had to work on it too because people will drag you into their drama, and they will give you so many issues that you’ll think your life is f**ked up. But it’s not even your life, it’s theirs,” he continued. “So I tell my wife, we have to concentrate not necessarily on the positive, but don’t concentrate on the negative.”
“Every single human being walking around is dealing with some sh-t, everyone. And what happens is we start to think our problem is we’re the only person dealing with it,” he shared. “When you think you’re the only one dealing with a particular problem, you’re not at all. There are thousands of people that deal with that same neglect problems, but you need to reach out and talk to somebody. As far as Black men out there, don’t be so boss that you can’t tell somebody that you hurt. You know that ain’t nothing soft about that. Because the other option is not acceptable, hurting yourself or hurting somebody because you’re hurt.”
The rapper believes that instead of just focusing on the positive, people should try to find a balance in which they are able to block out the negative and be present. In this season of his life, Ice T says he’s focused on being present and doing things that feel authentic to him, like his partnership with Raising Cane’s. In honor of their collaboration, the popular chicken restaurant is offering free 22 oz. iced tea at Raising Cane’s locations nationwide on Tuesday, June 10. The offer will load to Caniac Club accounts automatically and is redeemable by swiping the Caniac Club Card or scanning the QR code within Raising Cane’s mobile app.
“It was a great day when Cane’s asked me to be an ambassador because you have to be a certain level of connected to be able to work with a brand like Cane’s – this is me all day, chicken and iced tea,” he added.
When asked about his Father’s Day plans, Ice-T jokingly described it as an “unsung holiday.”
“It’s a day where they take me out to dinner and I pay for it,” he said, laughing. “It’s not like Mother’s Day. You miss Mother’s Day, somebody dies, but Father’s Day, I don’t know. I’m just proud to have kids who love me.”
“I’m one of those men that likes to support and provide, that’s just part of who I am. I think for a father, his biggest gift is to let him know that he’s appreciated,” he concluded.
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Originally sourced via trusted media partner. https://thegrio.com/2025/06/10/ice-t-spills-the-tea-on-mental-health-fatherhood-and-more-this-national-iced-tea-day/
