Chris Rock appears on the cover of Rolling Stone's latest issue, and the comedian has a lot to say. Throughout the lengthy profile, Rock discusses his respect for Prince, and his love of U2 and Richard Pryor's stand-up. But the most interesting parts of the interview are Rock's honest statements about his divorce.
Rock's divorce from Malaak Compton Rock was finalized last year, after 18 years of marriage, as Rolling Stone notes. And during a stand-up set at New York City's Comedy Cellar last October, Rock got surprisingly candid about the split.
Apparently, the comedian told the crowd that he'd slept with three women while on a comedy tour during his marriage. Rolling Stone writer Stephen Rodrick described the Comedy Cellar appearance as resembling a "therapy session."
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"Would I ever get married again?" Rock said during the set. "Not if it would cure AIDS."
Rock apparently discussed custody of his and Compton Rock's two daughters, Zahara and Lola, while on stage, too. "If someone wants 52% custody, you know they want to kill you," he told the crowd. Rock also made jokes about his alimony payments, and he referred to his Total Blackout tour as "the alimony tour" during the Rolling Stone interview.
"I was a piece of shit," Rock said of himself at a different show, before launching into detail about the three women with whom he had affairs. Rodrick describes the women as "one famous, one semifamous, and one a member of the retail class."
"Getting divorced, you have to fucking start over," Rock told Rolling Stone. "You get to reset. It's not a breakdown, but something in your life broke down." For the comedian, part of that starting-over process includes his latest comedy tour and a $40 million Netflix deal.
Rock also recognized the challenges that face a relationship when one partner (in this case, Rock) is much more famous than the other. "My faults are magnified," the comedian told the magazine, addressing the idea that he could be unfaithful to his wife because of his status. "Your significant other, if they really love you, has a high opinion of you," Rock added. "And you let them down."
You can read the full profile and interview over at Rolling Stone.