Chris Rock filed for divorce from his wife Malaak back in 2014. The divorce was finalized last year, but not before a huge, public airing of their messiness. Since Rock was the famous one, his side of the story was well-represented in the media, in that the official line from Team Chris was that he didn’t cheat on Malaak and Malaak was after his money and she wasn’t letting him spend time with their two daughters. There were other layers of messiness, but you get the idea. Well, Rock covers the new issue of Rolling Stone and – in a stark contrast to the other divorce confessional this week – Chris Rock is really coming clean about his cheating, his selfishness, and his dickish behavior towards his wife. You can read the full piece here. Highlights:
His new comedy tour: “I can’t tape it now. It’s the alimony tour. I’ve got to make some money first.”
He correctly predicted that Trump would win back in October: Rock delivers a well-reasoned argument about how “of the moment” candidates like Barack Obama and Trump always beat the “it’s my turn” candidates like McCain and Hillary Clinton. “Presidential politics is like show business, it doesn’t give a f–k – ‘Whoever’s hot,'” says Rock in a mocking tone. “‘Ooh, you paid your dues. We don’t give a f–k. Migos has the Number One record, f–k you.'”
What he says on stage about his divorce: “I was a piece of sh-t,” says Rock as the crowd goes quiet. He segues into his infidelities and gets disarmingly specific, describing three women: one famous, one semifamous, and one a member of the retail class.
Whether he was a good husband: “I wasn’t a good husband a lot of the times.”
Need is important in marriages: “You got a kid now. You’ll be fine. You need each other. Need is big. A woman breaks up with you, the first thing she says is ‘I don’t need this sh-t.’ She doesn’t say, ‘I don’t love you,’ she says she doesn’t need you.”
His daughters: “My own daughter has blocked me on Instagram. They grow up so quick.”
He ran into Trump in the 1990s: “Trump would walk in and women would be all over him. And you’d say, ‘That’s Donald motherf–king Trump.’ I give him this, too: He just never really gave a f–k. You’d see him out all the time, but he’d have his suit on, his red tie. He was never trying to be someone else.”He cheated because he was famous & rich: Rock mentions in his act that he thought he could get away with bad behavior in his marriage because he was the famous breadwinner. He now knows the opposite is true. “That’s bullsh-t,” he says, rolling his eyes. “That actually goes the other way. My faults are magnified. Your significant other, if they really love you, has a high opinion of you. And you let them down.”
He’s toned down the comedy bits about his ex-wife: “It’s not fair. I have a mic, she doesn’t. God forbid people are bugging her in the supermarket. That’s not cool. I’m going to have to see her at weddings and graduations.”
His new girlfriend, actress Megalyn Echikunwoke: “Actually I’m dating a girl now. She’s got her own dough, it’s amazing.”
People around Rock stress that he’s got his on-stage persona and that not everything he says on stage is 100% true, but that’s not how it seems in this piece. It seems like Rock has decided to work out his personal demons on stage, and he’s been in the process for a months now. I think money was a factor, but ultimately the question of “why did they get a divorce?” is that he cheated, he was a dick, and because he thought his money and celebrity meant he could do anything, and that’s all by his own admission. For whatever reason, I sort of respect Chris Rock more than Brad Pitt this week. Rock truly learned some life lessons. I’m not sure Brad did.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Rolling Stone.
He forgot about Pookie. Don’t forget where you came from, Chris. You didn’t always have all that fame, $$, & perfect teeth….gorgeous women didn’t always just flock to you. Humble beginnings….keep sight of that
He always was an asshole….remember the routine about understanding why OJ killed his EX wife!!!!? That shit blew my mind as a young girl. It was horrifying. An innocent woman was killed by an EX husband had NO right to her, and Chris Rock thinks it’s funny and identifies with the woman-murderer/serial killer? Misogynist overrated fuck needs his bigass teeth knocked out. Everybody “hated him” for a reason.
I’m not sure he’s learned much, either. He distinctly throws shade at the mother of his kids by insinuating that the girlfriend is better because “she has her own money.” Eff you, Chris Rock.
THIS! ^^^^^^^ He’ll be performing down the road from me in a week and I didn’t bother getting tickets.
That sentence struck me as a sign of being an asshole, too.
the mother of his kids and a woman who was likely with him when he WASN’T rich and famous (at least like he is now). up and coming, sure, but not like his current notoriety.
what a dick.
SO TRUE. I’m kind of disappointed, I really like C.Rock but in this interview (and probably in his life too) he seems like a douchebag. I feel for Malaak.
Not fan of PItt at all. Chris Rock? He smeared his ex up and down during the divorce – the whole time. Now, three years later he fesses up (he wants us to believe) and simultaneously shades his wife by stating his GF has money, “it’s amazing”. Your wife was with you for 20 years, jerkface, before you had money, and she wasn’t with you because of your goodlooks, so it must have been love. Also, your daughter blocked you on IG? Yeah, I wonder why.
No idea how someone can say they feel contempt for Brad Pitt but some “respect” for Chris Rock, b/c he “truly learned some life lessons.” He did? I sure as hell am not seeing it! Bias can make for some rather extraordinary hypocrisy.
I noticed that bit from Chris too, the shade about his new gf making her own money.
And that he’s not trashing her anymore because he has to see her at graduations. Not because he cares about her feelings, or that she doesn’t deserve this, or that he smeared her publicly for years, because it would be awkward for him later.
I don’t think this guy deserves any cookies at all.
@Madailein….completely agree, wth? I don’t understand that logic.
bingo
Honestly I lost what little tiny bit of interest I had in Chris Rock after he hosted the Oscars and then finally when he and Dave Chappelle were on SNL. Their whole bit revolved on being too rich to give a s**t and I just found it so distasteful. They’ve both lost touch with what made them great in the beginning and are just now part of the machine.
She’s got plenty of her ‘own’ money now, though, doesn’t she? Good on her. I’m sure she earned it.
yup, that is super sh*tty. When youa re married it’s both of your money, not his money, her money. His wife had her own money too – it just happened to come into the bank on checks in his name. That was a rude thing to say. Was it maybe true… idk. Marriage and kids definitely has a whole other layer when money is involved. Of course that won’t be the same with a single girlfriend… have a baby with her Chris and see how quick it’s not just ‘fun’ anymore. I do love him and find him hilarious so I can’t say this bothers me out of context. But in the context of I’m not going to talk about my wife because she doesn’t have a mic and then… this! It bothers me. If she had a mic she might say how great it is to raise kids without his immature a$$ around – who knows? 😛
+1
I think that’s who he is. Money is more important than anything else and his personal life is very oriented around ‘that’s mine this is yours.’ I would not want to be with someone like that–the stingy selfishness goes all the way through. I’ll bet he resents the hell out of paying the girls’ tuition etc. as if it’s unfair that he has to support his children.
He still sounds like a dick, but good for him acknowledging that he was bad to her and for her. A lot of people don’t really realize how much they are hurting the people they claim to love or care for.
I worked with him years ago on a tv project, my working experience with him is the guy is a A..Hole, total JERK. He said really mean,, nasty shit to a few of us women working w him, for no reason, just called us names, said demeaning comments. He is an Azz…hole. I know people love him, but I have never thought he was funny. I think it’s because I met and worked w him so I just see his humour as mean now and not funny.
I can believe that.
While I am super disappointed in him for this crap I have to give him props for owning up to sh*t behavior. As we do in therapy there’s not a whole lot we can change if you don’t admit to a problem. It doesn’t change the consequences and his wife was right to leave him. But at least they could possibly have a good parenting relationship
Now I hope he also apologized to his ex and his daughters for this as well. And yes way better than brad that just told the world it’s AJs fault for breaking up the family *rolls eyes*
But did you even read Brad’s interview? The opposite is true. He seemed to take full responsibility for all that’s happened, including the breakup of his family, but without getting specific on the details. That’s really the only difference between this interview and that of Chris Rocks’ (very specific)… not to mention the lack of shade to his ex, which Chris Rock threw with that money comment.
Or he’s saying what he thinks people want to hear. Like he said – he’s going on tour because he financially is taking a hit. I don’t think it’s motivated by self-reflection so much as financial reasons.
And here’s the other thing – he spent time sh*tting on his wife in the media, because he was the ‘powerful breadwinner’ – that’s the story that got traction. The ‘I was an asshole and I cheated’ isn’t the story that’s going to get out there in nearly the same way – and I think he knows that. His wife got drug for wanting his money – he’s still making a dig with his ‘alimony tour’ comments – and now he’s acting like he’s suddenly so self aware and so sorry about it all. I don’t buy it. If he’s sorry it’s because he’s met with his accountant, not because he hurt his wife and children.
^This! I agree. I don’t respect Chris Rock because it does seem it is all about the money.
I agree, I think he thinks it puts more money in his pocket if he says these things.
I have a feeling this show is going to be hilarious. He’s a comedian and by in large they tend to be d**s so I’m not expecting anything else but brutal honesty
His ex wife is educated and accomplished, and he acted like she was some golddigging bimbo. She’s far better off without him.
Seriously. He talked sh*t about her for years while they were still married. Whatever problems they may have had, she is still the mother of his children. Great example your setting for your own daughters, Chris.
no. he comes across very bad and way worse than pitt. throughout the interview there is a cocky undercurrent of “look what an asshole i was, haha. now forgive and forget because i’m funny! oh and btw my new girl has her own money.” wtf.
Sounds pretty straightforward. I don’t think him and his ex-wife were going through anything in particular, just that he had an opportunity to cheat so he took it. Being the non-famous partner in a ‘famous couple’ must be kind of sucky. I’m just surprised he filed for divorce; thought they were going to pull a Denzel and Pauletta.
Chris has always tried to be as honest as he could be while on stage. I thought that was what all truly funny comedians did, they talk about everything on stage like a confessional but present it so that people can laugh at whatever they are talking about.
I will give Chris a little bit of credit for what he said he because he was so frank about it. He was owning up to his part in the demise of his relationship and not sugar coating it. I think i am going to be a little generous today and say that maybe Brad and Rock are in two different places in their journey. Rock seems to be closer to the end and can finally look back at what he did and call it exactly what it was. Brad is just starting to cope with losing his family and coming to terms with his drinking and drug use.
These celebrities cannot win, they say nothing they are vilified. He is coming out saying he was a DICK, I messed up. Yet people are saying he is not being honest. Let us not forget these celebrities are human as well
I also didn’t like the whole “my girl has her own dough” comment either. His wife was raising their children while he was on the road working & skanking around apparently. And didn’t she start a charity or foundation as well? She wasn’t just shopping all day & eating caviar at night, she was doing her own thing too. He may have been the breadwinner, but it’s evident she was still far too good for him.
Cheating is terrible and selfish but pretty common in Hollywood with all the money, travel, and opportunities. What made me side-eye Chris was less that he cheated and more that he unfairly bashed his wife and tried to skip out on providing for the adopted kid/kid they took into their home (that bit was unclear, whether it was a family friend’s child they were taking care of or whether they actually adopted her).
I give him credit for owning up, but still…
I knew he was cheating years ago when he said that “a man is only as faithful as his options”, or something to that effect. What an ass!
Well at least he owned up to his shit. Most men don’t. And yes, I think it’s still about the money for him. For most men it is. What he failed to realize there, is that his daughters are watching and what’s important is how he treats his wife in that circumstance. They had to put up with his shit and now that he’s leaving he should make sure they don’t have to add financial struggle to the mix. Responsible people take care of their family all the time, not just when they feel like it.
I never liked him
Wow she is gorgeous! Slightly dated styling though or I guess the pics must be old
I get the feeling he’s resentful and not over it. “I’ll have to see her at weddings”” duh! Is that the only reason you’re less of a dick now?
What a gross pig! Him and Trump with their attitude of “because I’m rich and famous” is awful. Too bad there’s cocky jerks like them
Chris Rock, the public person and comedian, is sharp, insightful, and cutting. But Chris Rock the person is terrible. He spent his entire marriage disparaging his wife. The man even made a movie titled “Why did I get married”. I’m glad Malaak got paid and is rid of him.
He wasn’t in those Tyler Perry movies. You might be thinking of his American remake of “I Think I Love my Wife.” Still, that’s about a man daydreaming about cheating on his wife, but your point remains, so…
Oops, got my title mixed up. But yes, my point does remain. And don’t forget when he broke up with his wife the first time because he knew he’d have to pay more if they made it to 10 years of marriage.
Another artist whose work I can appreciate but I don’t necessarily want to know about their personal life. Chris is a brilliant comedian. So is Dave Chappell, who is in a similar situation. He’s still married but he brings up his wife in his current stand up show and he makes reference to only have sex with the feet of women (so he’s obviously cheating on the road but justifying in by not sticking it in).
Honestly it’s got to be a hard transition from “nobody” to “star”, especially when you’ve got a family. Once you’re famous and you tour, there is big league temptation out there…..I can see how it would break up a marriage.
BUT there is no reason to bring up your ex wife, the mother of your children, who no doubt made plenty of sacrifices for you, just so you can make a joke. There’s plenty of material out there, why you gotta stoop?
Just finished reading the RS piece and these guys who bitch about alimony and child support always come across like they have buyer’s remorse. Too effing bad – you made commitments and you have to honor them. Don’t ever get married again and learn from your “mistake”
And Kevin Hart. He used to have such mean comedy about Torei (his ex). Funny, though, now that he’s “upgraded” to a model type, no more mean jokes about her.
Not sure I agree with the writer that CR sounds like he’s evolved through the divorce experience but Brad hasn’t. How is that conclusion supported? Likely they both have. Evolving is better than staying a dick, but not being a dick in the first place is even better.
This^
I have never liked Chris and I’m on record on that, Not his comedy nor his persona, I Appreciate him in interview form for his observations but the fumes of all that Toxic has always been strong for me ALWAYS ( also these comedians and the Tired 90s Style routines laced lulz flavored Misogyny and homophobia and such is really not my thing, Bodega Boys podcast had a good talk on this and how they can’t rewatch too much Eddie or New Chapelle behind that stuff- he is squarely on that class for me but less funny)
His comedy has always been hit or miss for me, as for his personality, never much liked the leper lipped mother f-cker neither. And like everyone else has pointed out, he’s still taking pot shots at his ex-wife. Cancelled!
He’s calling it “the alimony tour.” He’s still snarking on his ex-wife, who most likely would love it if he would stop calling attention to her or their marriage.
You know, he needs to let it go. When you f-k the world, eventually your wife is going to tire of it and bounce. What did he expect? As a woman, if you’re successful and have your own money, you’re too independent, if you get married, stay home and he leaves you they take shots at you because of the ‘alimony’. What about making the choice to keep your dick in your pants and live a peaceful life?? I hate it when these men treat their wives as if they are disposable, the wife leaves and then they carry on like a Bitter Betty.
I respect his honesty. People cheat everyday. It’s life. He married in 1996, well into his career. What he says about the new girl having her own money is a reflection of the issue in his marriage. He is allowed to admit that he thinks a woman who came into the situation with her own status, will not tolerate the things he put his wife through aka he can’t get away with the bs. Financial co-dependency is awful and ultimately will create the type of environment they ended up in. What’s missing is that he’s a great, hands on father. It doesn’t always come naturally to be a great, hands on husband or wife. The children are what’s important.
He’s always been my favorite stand up. He has his finger on the pulse of race in America so accurately. Can’t wait to see him when he comes to my city.
I believe his wife had a pretty good job when they first started dating. He met her at an event where she was working as a PR person. She likely gave up her career to take care of their children and support his career. It’s really low of him to shade her like that.
Well said Goldie. It was a low blow and a terrible comment. Does he think his children when they are grown would want to see that? Probably not.
Many women give up their careers to support their husbands then get discarded. Not fair or cool.
His wife is an attorney and a fairly accomplished one at that. As I recall, she stopped working when they had kids and then she focused all her efforts on philanthropy and non-profit work. She wasn’t sitting around doing nothing and spending his money.
Such a great father that his own child has blocked him. Sure she’s a teen but clearly has enough presence of mind about the situation to know she wants to limit her connection to him. Kids see how their fathers treat their mothers. They see it and often spend their lives replaying it in their own lives. The child is right to cancel him.
What does he mean by the retail class? The average person? What a jerk. Obviously he thinks that those who have money are above those who do not. Typical oppression by the upper class doesn’t matter what color their skin is they are all the same they think they can get away with anything. And they do.
That’s simply not true about him. His essay for THR(was it?) about class and race disparity in Hollywood was fantastic. It was about that very issue…people assuming others don’t exist based on those things. I think he meant it as a joke, like yeah I cheated with a “real” celebrity, a C list celebrity, and a girl I met at Starbucks or Target.
I don’t think it was a joke. I think he was serious. For sure he talked about it – but talk is cheap and he wanted to make points with the “retail class” when he needed it. Just like Brad Pitt now. They know how to get the “retail class” to “love” them and “believe” in them. And they know just how to do it. Just some like celebrities hop on the “woke” train to get the “retail class” to support them. However, how you live your live shows what you actually believe in – not what you say. Hollywood is good at talking but not good at living out the life they talk about. Hypocrite that is what Chris Rock is.
@Cheryl Your words are very true, especially about Pitt.
I think his wife just won at life by having him leave. She may not know it yet but he gave her a gift box with a big red bow on top. She will be better off without this narcissistic guy in her life. Ughh… money and fame. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Really, you respect Chris Rock more? The guy has always treated his wife like garbage.
I disagree with the writer. I don’t think he has learned anything.
Tale as old as time – man and woman fall in love. man has passion for a difficult career, woman gives up EVERYTHING for said man (re Torrei Hart & Malaak) to support his career because of her love for him. when man is popping, he gets distracted and thinks he can do better.
He just comes across like a narcissistic bell-end. The comment about his new gf having money was tasteless and tacky.
Malaak deserved every penny for what she got because she gave up her future earnings to support his career.
Absolute bell-end.
Malaak is beautiful and light skinned. I’m sure her appearance was a large part of why he married her. Why are men who make these choices never questioned, judged or labelled shallow while women who marry for money have numerous derogatory names, ready to be dropped when they outlive their use.
There is no equivalent to gold digger. The only thing I can think of is trophy wife which is really a derogatory way to refer to women.
Right sanders, they are never questioned! It’s infuriating reading the RS feature. Why should he get a pat on the back for being honest, who cares? How about not being a jerk to the mother of your children and your loyal ex-wife? Ugh.
Yes she is light-skinned and quite the beauty, I can see he has a type (Megalyn, Rosario and Malaak).
Megalyn definitely favors Malaak, almost like a younger version of her. Chris definitely has a type, as I’ve never seen him dating someone with a darker brown tone than his.
He can also kick rocks for his immature and disparaging comments about her.
I guess I’ll finish reading about him later. Just another sickening guy. He’s always had a dick vibe about him. It’s just shocking that anyone wanted to have sex with him.
WOW -disrespectful of all his/the women, daughters and mother included.
Chris is one of the best stand-up comedians out there. However, it may be too soon for him, and his many fans, to use his ex-wife, kids and his new girlfriend as “material” in his act. We’re not ready for this. You’re better than that Chris.
His daughter blocking him says it all. F*** you Dad.
“she got her own dough” Just wow. What a piece of work. Is that how you talk about the woman who was home raising YOUR children? That’s awful.
I never will understand why men who hate women marry. Surely the “emotional security” they get doesn’t make up for having to “suffer” hitched to such a “flawed” gender. As for Rock, it says a lot that he seldom if ever talks about his mother and lauds his (abusive) father as a role model. _So_ tired of misogynistic celebs like him, Steve Harvey, TD Jakes, and that idiot Tyrese acting like they are wise men handing on hard-won wisdom of the ages when they spout this crap. No, guys–you’ve never dealt with your issues, and you’re projecting bigtime.