Chris Rock’s transcendent fame and crossover appeal have been a double-edged sword as a stand-up comedian and actor, he believes.
Rock, 57, is salty that his urbanite comedy fans believe that his comedy now only appeals to White people.
While chatting on “Hart to Heart,” Rock talked to fellow funnyman Kevin Hart about the stinging criticism.
“So, I do Bring The Pain, and I’m on ‘Oprah‘ and I’m on ’60 Minutes‘ and I’m just on the cover of every magazine, whatever, in the world,” Rock said. “[You hear] that rumbling of, ‘Only White people like it. Too many White people like it.’ So, when it was time to do my next special, I’m like, ‘Oh, you think only White people like me? OK, well, I’m going to the Apollo and there ain’t gon’ be no White people nowhere and I’m gonna call this special — this is the Blackest special you will ever see.”
Hart, who just shared the stage with Rock during a concert performance at Madison Square Garden in New York, came to Rock’s defense about this issue.
“It’s the success of the comedian that has found a way to cross over and appeal to all,” Hart said. “The universal comic, people remove the word ‘universal’ and just throw in the word ‘White.’ You forget the world is massive so, one of the best pieces of advice that I’ve ever gotten is from you in regard to comedy: ‘Aye, don’t be local. The world is big. Go travel. Go over that water, go be funny to the world. Go be funny for everybody.’ “
Listen to the interview in full.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko7MjuKjyFI
