Chris Rock has addressed the past criticism he received from people who felt his comedy only appealed to white people. During a recent chat on “Hart to Heart,” the 57-year-old, who is said to be one of the highest-paid comedians in Hollywood, had an open discussion with fellow comic Kevin Hart about going from stand-up comedy to crossing over into the mainstream space.
And usually, when a comedian attains that sort of global reach — particularly a comedian of color — they are often met with comments from those who believe stars such as Chris are no longer appealing to a Black audience. While speaking with Kevin, the “Bad Company” star shared how those remarks affected him and what he did in the past to prove his critics wrong.
A rare picture of Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart and Lionel Messi sharing a stage pic.twitter.com/6u5Ge8hEDO
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“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,” he shared. “[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? Okay, 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.”
Chris then recalled the times he had told Black people to “shut up” in comedy clubs that were trying to hate on Kevin for his noticeable mainstream appeal. The funnyman further said that a lot of times, people tend to think that crossing over and becoming a universal comic means they are only trying to appeal to a white audience, which is not the case in his eyes.
Kevin seemed passionate with his words, adding that while a lot of critics tend to replace the word universal with white, being a mainstream comedian doesn’t mean one can’t attract an audience that isn’t predominantly Caucasian.
Went to Madison Square Garden to see Chris Rock and Kevin Hart, the surprise opening act was Dave Chappelle!!! All three killed!! My side hurts from laughter!! What a f**king night!!
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“It’s the success of the comedian that has found a way to cross over and appeal to all. 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 regards 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.’”
Kevin praised Chris for always having stayed true to his beliefs and the direction in which he wanted to take his career, regardless of what others may have said. That’s what has ultimately allowed him to enjoy a lengthy three-decade-long stint in comedy, the father of four added.