Chris Rock is promoting the seemingly overdue UK release of Top Five. The film did well in North America and should pick up some tidy receipts in Europe too. Professionally, Rock is doing fantastic. He’s preparing to direct Amy Shumer’s upcoming HBO special and has a few production gigs in the chute. In a new interview with the Guardian, Rock discusses how he mentors up-and-comers like Hannibal Burress and takes pride in ditching the newest Adam Sandler trainwrecks in favor of projects with “taste.”
This interview covers a lot of ground. Rock discusses why he has been documenting his traffic stops on social media. He hints at a lot of sadness over the end of his 19-year marriage, which grew really messy, really fast. Those parts of the interview are sad, but I sure enjoyed how Rock dodges the Kanye West question. Top Five was co-produced by Kanye, who may not have been aware of the film’s reality-star character who strongly resembles Kim Kardashian. This woman only kisses her fiancée on cue: “If it’s not on camera, it doesn’t exist.” Here are some excerpts:
Staying in shape age age 50: “Still skinny. I work out now, because you have to when you’re single. But I’m still skinny.”
Why he wrote Top Five: “You get to a point where you say, OK, I’m not going to be Iron Man. So maybe I should be hanging with [Richard] Linklater and [Alexander] Payne. Maybe this is my crew instead of Sandler and Apatow and Stiller. They’re all still my boys, but maybe, artistically, my crew is over here … I’m gonna do one for me now. It’s a really weird thing in the ones that take place in New York. But I still like those movies — I’m cursed with taste.”
What did Kanye think of Rock’s Kim K-esque character? “Aww man … You know, I haven’t talked to him for a while. I should text him, go for lunch …”
He’s depressed about his divorce: “I’m doing OK. You know, some days are better than others, some days you’re sad outta your f***ing mind. But my daughters are good and I’m only an hour away. Two houses close by. It’s good,” he says, a little quieter than before. “You learn more from failure than success, right?”
On the high-maintenance women of Rock’s comedy: “I talk about women the way I talk about me. Everyone’s fair game and no one gets a pass. I talk about black people the way I talk about white people.”
Why he’s documenting traffic stops on Instagram: “I’ve always been stopped by the cops. Cops stop black guys who drive nice cars.”
Has police brutality against black young men grown worse?: “It’s not that it’s gotten worse, it’s just that it’s part of the 24-hour news cycle. What’s weird is that it never happens to white kids. There’s no evidence that white youngsters are any less belligerent, you know? We can go to any Wall Street bar and they are way bigger a**holes than in any other black bar. But will I see cops stop shooting black kids in my lifetime? Probably not.”
[From The Guardian]
Rock goes on to discuss whether or not he’s experienced any fallout after putting Hollywood’s race problem on blast last fall. He talks about the Sony hack and how Scott Ruden is “basically f***ing crazy” but “not racist. Scott Rudin hates EVERYBODY.” The whole interview is an interesting read, including when Rock hears about Trevor Noah’s sketchy Twitter jokes for the first time. Rock doesn’t get caught by surprise too often, but it happens here.
There’s also another odd Guardian article that discusses Rock’s recent baseball rant, in which he says baseball no longer appeals to black people. I don’t know jack about baseball, but Rock makes an intriguing argument. It’s a little too “inside baseball” though.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN
Only about 8% of MLB players are African American. The sport is predominantly white and Latin American. Also, I go to a lot of baseball games (across the country) and there a re very few African Americans in the stands. He makes a lot of good points in his “rant” about baseball.
Totally agree. And don’t even mention hockey. When I go to a hockey game, I feel like I am at some sort of white supremest convention.
Basketball used to be much more mostly white attended than it is now – at least in Boston. Maybe because blacks couldn’t buy into a team that was led by a superstar white guy (Larry Bird) and so perhaps it was perceived that Boston was a “white team.”
It’s always SO damn noticeable how super-white it is in Fenway. It’s like, striking to the point that I have to say something every time. It makes it less fun because the crowd isn’t diverse at all. These days is mostly rich old white dudes who don’t get into the game at all.
Bruins is the same thing as far as the white people factor, maybe even worse. At least the Bs games are fun though..people get into it.
Pats games aren’t quite as bad, but still…
A white supremacist convention??? As a black person myself, you come off as though white people have banned us or make us feel unwelcome at sporting events. I don’t know many black folk who enjoy hockey. A good majority of us don’t attend these games, because that’s our CHOICE. It is a matter of taste. It’s not a race issue or a “rich white folk” problem. Give me a f-cking break. Racism is real, but don’t reach for it as a reason behind every circumstance.
@Laurisa-You’ve obviously never been to a Boston sports event of any kind if you don’t think money plays a huge part in who goes to the games. I make decent money and I only ever get to see a Sox, Celtics, or Bruins game because someone gives me a ticket, whether through work, or a much wealthier friend. And that’s not factoring in the other costs of parking and/or cab, drinks, etc. It’s just a very expensive proposition to see a game around here.
Anyway, I didn’t blame racism at all. I was simply stating my observations and gave no reason behind as to why it was like that. Maybe as you said some black people don’t like going to see sports.
I believe you.
Calm down.
So, games aren’t fun, because they aren’t diverse? Are you looking for black people to bring the party and get rowdy? *smh* Most people attend sporting events for the game, not the color of the attendees. Why not just enjoy the game and stop searching for a race problem where it doesn’t exist? I will echo what Laurisa said… If you don’t see black people, maybe it’s because they just didn’t want to attend the game, or don’t like it? It has nothing to do with the color of the players, either. I don’t need a team of all black players in order to enjoy it.
Oh good god. Way to extrapolate like crazy.
Since you don’t go to baseball games I’ll explain it to you: games are more fun when you’re not sitting amongst middle-aged golfers and rich business men who refuse to cheer or stand up during a good play. It’s called “atmosphere” and yeah, a more diverse crowd makes for more excitement in the stands. As ticket prices increase every year, you see less diversity because good tickets are only available to the select few who are lucky enough to afford them.
I don’t know how this became about “black people bringing the party” when I was actually thinking I’d like to see more women and more young people because they bring more enthusiasm than rich old corporate dudes.
EDIT: I just re-read my original comment and it did make it seem like I was saying that black people make it more “fun”. Sorry if I came across that way. I was just adding on to Green Eyes’s comment that the crowds in Boston games are getting increasingly homogenous and it never uses to be like that when we could all actually afford to go.
I completely get what Kitten is saying and I agree. It’s kind of like Hollywood. We need more diversity in films. Of course you can enjoy a movie that pretty much have an all White cast but I think it would be just as enjoyable if the cast was mixed or diversed.
Fortunately I attend baseball games at Yankee Stadium which is in The Bronx and there is diversity, well because it’s the Bronx. CitiField is pretty diverse as well.
Now I have gone to a couple of games in Texas at Globe Park to see The Rangers and let me say, well,…um,… yep, what Kitten said.
BTW Kitten has been on this site longer than me and though we don’t agree on everything and I don’t know her personally I have read enough comments by her to know that she wasn’t trying to offend anyone and she wasn’t stereotyping Black people.
Thanks so much, V4Real 🙂
My first comment was idiotic and I should have elaborated. But thanks for having my back, girl!
I think it’s like this one sports writer said, Professional Black baseball players are becoming few because they don’t want to wait. They don’t want to put in the time before going pro. Most baseball players have to play in the minors first before going pro. With FB and BB you can usually get drafted straight out of college and some even before.
As for Black men with nice cars getting profiled by cops, Rock is right and it’s nothing new. Recently a Black coworker was pulled over by a cop. He drives a 2014 Benz. The cops excuse for doing so was that they were checking registrations. Truth is he was pulled over because he was driving a luxury car in a Black neighborhood. They thought he was a drug dealer.
I meant they were checking inspection stickers
Baseball is NOT into the whole he’s great at 17, let’s do what we can to hurry him along. They’re fine with making you sweat it out playing for the Nowheresville Beavers for a few years to hone your skill. But I don’t think saying baseball is somehow behaving in an inherently racist manner is correct, and that’s the vibe I’m getting out there. I was just at a minor league game last weekend, and the team was racially mixed. I’m going to see the Red Sox in July, just so my husband can see Big Papi before he gets too old and has to retire. If black people aren’t interested in baseball, does it need to be shoved down their throats?
Your reasoning about black people wanting to go pro right away is making me side-eye you.
I haven’t heard his rant but my husband was just recently commenting on how white baseball has gotten. An older friend of ours (who grew up in an urban area) suggested that there aren’t many sandlots anymore in town. It’s really become a suburb sport. It’s too bad.
It’s a good interview. You missed my fav part:
Q – How does he think growing up with a black family in the White House has affected his daughters’ outlook on the world?
“It’s not really my kids who are affected – it’s white people’s kids. It’s white people who have made progress. To call it black progress suggests we deserved everything that happened to us: the kids my kids grow up with won’t have a hard time picturing my daughters in an executive capacity – that’s progress, you know what I mean?”
Love this.
My favorite part as well. It goes with the whole notion of progress is only going to happen with white people. As in the change is not going to come from POCs it has to come from the majority in power.
Once again Chris Rock nails it on important topics. Give this guy more interviews please
Not a big Chris Rock fan (only because I haven’t watched much of what he’s been in) but I agree with him. White people don’t understand. Period. And I am a white person.
I have an African American female friend who is in her late 30s, gorgeous, dresses casually. She told me that she gets followed around a store by the owners/workers all the time. It just blew my mind that someone like her would be targeted – and not that anyone deserved to get targeted, but we all think that the racial stereotypes that are out there (young black men, etc.) are the ones who get targeted.
Black women get the same terrible treatment, but no one gives a damn to the point where most people don’t even know that it happens. It ‘merits’ no attention to so many people that people who genuinely don’t know about it will never be told that black women have no ‘hands off’ status, or, no status at all. Oh, wait, when someone needs to be a fat, black mess on camera, THEN people remember. No one protests when they are abused and killed–which happens all the time and this isn’t a problem that’s uniquely American, either. Depending on where you go, people don’t care because they’re black, or people don’t care because they’re women, but in most places people don’t care because they’re black women. People like to think we thrive on pain, that it makes us ‘strong’, well, that’s just something they tell themselves to give them permission to gleefully treat people like garbage–it’s pretty hollow and transparent. Honestly, who thrives on pain? That’s stupid, but there isn’t the ‘protect and defend’ impulse applied to black women because they aren’t presented to the world as being worthy or feminine enough for that. It’s a whole big thing.
rrrrrrrrrr
In the 60’s and 70’s security would follow my grandmother around the stores. She would ask them to carry her bags, since they were following her. Things don’t change. My grandfather stop driving his cadillac because the cops were always pulling him over.
I love him so much.
It would be naive to think racial profiling doesn’t happen, but where I live, the people you see getting pulled over are the younger ones driving beat up cars or fast cars. Different kind of profiling, not racial.
My white female friend drives a sick, white Camero and got pulled over by a detail cop who wanted to know who’s car she was driving and when she learned to drive stick.
She has really big boobs.
I’m not sure if that’s relevant but I’m mentioning it for the sake of full disclosure.
Oh wow, that’s sleazy! Did the cop look like Pornstache?
Ha ha..that’s totally how I pictured him when she was telling me the story.
I love him so much, can’t believe he’s 50!!! He looks good. It must be infuriating to be pulled over all the time when you haven’t done anything wrong. Possibly frightening too?
For non-famous people, it’s a real trial. The experience doesn’t end when the unpleasant incident does. They pull people over and ID them, therefore putting them into a database that any cop can see and now they know the face. Drive safe. What about when people want to apply for anything, how does it look when the cops have you on file? Do you think prospective schools or employers care that the cops only went for–oh, stopped you–did it because ‘they just wanted to talk’, or ‘you fit the description… of the people they like to harass and kill’? No. They’re relieved. Good, just more of ‘them’ we don’t need to suffer, lucky stuff. These things follow people all through their lives, that’s why cops do it. They know it because they invented it and they invented for this. If they can’t get you today, they WILL get you in the end.
Drive safe.
All seriousness aside- and chris rock is on point- but the first pic reminds me of the Olsen sisters.
My car is 14 years old. But it’s also a sporty 2 door coup.
In the 4 years I had my previous car I got pulled over once
I’ve had my current car for a year and I’ve gotten pulled over 8 times. I got pulled over twice in one week!
I got pulled over 3 times while working
..as a delivery driver! You can’t even drive for a living if your license and insurance aren’t legit
I guess my 14 year old car is still too nice for me.tp drive 🙁
I really like Chris Rock. He is endlessly talented, smart, funny and gives the most thoughtful and interesting interviews. Always glad when he has stuff to promote.
Actually police have shot over 400 white people vs. just over 200 black people in 2014.
White people make up 72% of the US population and black people make up 12%.
Must I say more or do you get it now?
Statistics can be spun a thousand different ways. Percentage white, percentage black, percentage white crime, percentage black crime. My point wasn’t the numbers, my point is it happens to all races, it is NOT only a black issue. Our country is so polarized. Until we come together as humans and stop with all the finger pointing on all sides then we will not find solutions.
I agree that you can’t just go off numbers alone, you need to look at percentages as well. That being said shouldn’t that also be true when you look at baseball? Yes there are not a lot of African American players in baseball but basketball more then compensates. I also agree with the above commenter, if black people aren’t interested in baseball or hockey do we have to force them to just to make ourselves feel better? Also the percentage of American born players in the NHL is a lot less then European and Canadian.
“statistics can be spun a thousand different ways”
Nope. In this case it’s pretty cut and dry. Unless you actually believe that there are an equal number of blacks and whites in this country?
“My point wasn’t the numbers, my point is it happens to all races, it is NOT only a black issue.”
Then why bring up numbers at all then? Statistics suited you enough when you could say that 400 white people were murdered by cops.
How can you throw out a stat that clearly shows the discrepancy in the amount of black people shot by cops compared to white people shot by cops then go on to say that it’s not only a black issue. That doesn’t even make sense. Yes white people are killed by cops, but compared to the amount of black people killed by cops it is FAR less of an issue.
Kitten really says it all. Susan’s comment is totally off the mark.
Yes, but there are way more white people than black people in america, so you are missing some numbers there.
That statistic is sad for two reasons:
1. White people make up the majority. So that stat does not help your case because it’s not proportionate to the actual racial makeup of this country. Same goes with arrests, convictions, sentencing and prison makeup
2. In a year cops have killed more people in the U.S. alone than most other 1st world countries COMBINED
I need people to wake up and smell the obvious problem
My “case”? What case am I trying to make? The point is black, white and Hispanic people are shot by police. WHY are they shot, is the reason justified, I have no idea. My point is, it’s not just black people being shot. This is a HUMAN problem.
It’s wrong in any case, Susan. Cops should not be murdering without justifiable cause, period. I don’t see how this is a “human issue” though. It’s more of an issue with untrained, fearful people in a position of power with ready access to firearms and a society that generally seems to be ok with that.
I think our standards need to be raised for law enforcement. For starters.
Susan, the HUMAN problem is the danger of stereotyping and what we’ve seen to be a common assumption that a black person (man, usually) must be a criminal or up to illegal activities, or is more likely to have a weapon and pose a threat to an officer than a white man, and therefore the officer pulling his own trigger is a knee-jerk reaction all because of preconceived notions about the person he/she is facing. No one ever said whites, Hispanics, etc. never get shot or killed by police. The discrepancy – the most important factor here – is that this happens disproportionately to black men.
“Police in Baltimore killed more unarmed people than 93 of the 100 largest US cities. None were white.”
From: https://twitter.com/samswey/status/592112239886225410
“42% of black people killed by police last month were unarmed.”
From: https://twitter.com/samswey/status/596099626240856064
“Black people were 4x more likely to be killed by police last month.”
From: https://twitter.com/samswey/status/597430609988816896
It’s a problem that’s much worse for certain humans.
I get what Susan is saying. While blacks are harmed by cops a grossly disproportionate amount, cops are still out there shooting all races. Racism in law enforcement definitely exists, and that issue needs to be addressed, but when we’re talking about cops murdering people, we should focus less on race/who has it worse. It’s not a competition–all of it is completely disgusting. I think the more pertinent issue is that cops are abusing their power.
Suasan:
Given that there are more white people then black, what does that tell you about the percentage of black people vs white peole that cops shoot and kill?
It tells me that while my math is bad, it’s worse in some.
Chris Rock is right.
Here in Atlanta, the police “don’t” (ahem) have ticket quotas that they are required to meet every month. As a result, the police here are looking for opportunities to constantly write tickets because otherwise they will get penalized. It’s getting really bad – I have a white friend who was recently ticketed for ‘rolling through a stop sign’ and when she pointed out to the cop that she had actually stopped he replied, “Yeah, but you only stopped once. You’re supposed to stop three times, so stopping once counts as a roll.” And he wrote the ticket.
So when the cops see a black man driving a nice car, they get excited and think maybe his insurance lapsed since yesterday and they pull him over to check his papers. Hey, it might be a ticket!
I’m devastated over Chris Rock’s divorce. You can tell he’s hurting. I hope they can keep it civil but I think it may get ugly. I hope not! 19 years! Ugh! I think his career is going to blow up bigger than it’s ever been really soon. I’m so glad he’s directing. Top Five was hilarious but sad too. Drum roll…..Okay, my Top Five: 5. Eric B. & Rakim 4. Nas 3. Public Enemy 2. Queen Latifah and the number 1. A Tribe Called Quest.