Fans were jarred by the confession from comedic actor Marlon Wayans that he was compelled to quit stand-up after getting trolled by fellow jokester Chris Rock.
Wayans admitted that he took a sabbatical from the stage for 20 years after Rock mocked his act and alleged lack of jokes during his interview on “Sway’s Universe” radio show.
Despite his 30 years in the entertainment game, Wayans said it took a long time for him to perfect his craft.
“It wasn’t a dip. It took time, right? I started late when I first started. I started at 16, then I stopped, then I did it again at 18 and I did it like three or four times, then I stopped. Then I did again at 19 and I did it maybe 50 times and then Chris Rock heckled me and I quit for 20 years,” Wayans told Sway as he promoted his new special, “God Loves Me.”
The youngest comedian from the Wayans family entertainment dynasty said he didn’t get his equilibrium on stage again until he was nearly 40.
“I got back on stage about when I was like 39 and after that I just kept going at it and at first you are not as funny as you want to be but now I’m in the zone, in the jello. I got a special I just filmed out of pocket. You know you good when you start paying for stuff. You know what I mean when you start paying for your own stuff.
“There’s one thing when a White man wants to pay; you’d be like ‘gotcha sucker.’ But when it’s your money you think differently. Performance is different. So for this one I put up my own money and it’s called ‘God Loves Me,’ ” he said.
Fans expressed surprise at Wayans’ confessional in the comments section of the YouTube video:
“I’ve seen Marlon’s stand up and he is hilarious, I’m glad he went back to comedy!” one person said.
“I can’t believe that Marlon Wayans quits comedy because of Chris Rock heckling him and everything.. That’s Crazy…,” another wrote.
“You didn’t know your audience? I thought you were quite a good actor/comedian,” commented another fan.
