History Creator / ChrisRock

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In his 2023 Netflix special ''Selective Outrage'', Chris Rock dedicated the last ten minutes of his show to roast both Creator/WillSmith and Creator/JadaPinkettSmith for what occurred in [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony]] after Will Smith legitimately slapped Chris onstage for telling a joke about Jada. Pointing out how out of all the people in the world who were actively harassing both Will and Jada over the latter's adultery scandal, Will chose to take his frustration out [[MisplacedRetribution on Chris]] -- a person who had attempted to give the Smiths moral support during the height of the controversy and had ''no chance'' of beating the much larger Will in a physical confrontation if he did choose to strike back. He also took the time to deride how [[DidntThinkThisThrough poorly thought-out]] Will and Jada's decision to go public with the details of the affair via the "Red Table Talk" was, arguing that it did far more harm to both their reputations and their marriage than good.
-->'''Chris:''' Will Smith practices [[TitleDrop selective outrage]]. Practices selective outrage. Everybody who really knows, knows I had ''nothing'' to do with that shit. I didn’t have any ''[[DoubleEntendre 'entanglements']].'' -- His wife was fucking her son’s friend! I normally would not talk about this shit. But for some reason, these niggas [[WhatTheHellHero put that shit on the internet]]. I have no idea why two talented people would do something that fucking lowdown, ''what the fuck?'' We’ve all been cheated on. Everybody in here been cheated on. But none of us has ever been interviewed by the person that cheated on us ''on television!'' ''[[EveryoneHasStandards None of us!]]'' It's like "Hey, I was sucking somebody else's dick, [[AskAStupidQuestion how did that make you feel?]]" Why the ''fuck'' would you do that shit? [[EtTuBrute She hurt him]] ''[[EtTuBrute way more]]'' [[EtTuBrute than he hurt me.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In his 2023 Netflix special ''Selective Outrage'', Chris Rock dedicated the last ten minutes of his show to roast both Creator/WillSmith and Creator/JadaPinkettSmith for what occurred in [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony]] after Will Smith legitimately slapped Chris onstage for telling a joke about Jada. Pointing out how out of all the people in the world who were actively harassing both Will and Jada over the latter's adultery scandal, Will chose to take his frustration out [[MisplacedRetribution on Chris]] -- a person who had attempted to give the Smiths moral support during the height of the controversy and had ''no chance'' of beating the much larger Will in a physical confrontation if he did choose to strike back. He also took the time to deride how [[DidntThinkThisThrough poorly thought-out]] Will and Jada's decision was to go public with the details of the affair via the "Red Table Talk", arguing that it did far more harm to both their reputations and their marriage than good.
-->'''Chris:''' Will Smith practices [[TitleDrop selective outrage]]. Everybody who really knows, knows I had ''nothing'' to do with that shit. I didn’t have any ''[[DoubleEntendre 'entanglements']].'' -- His wife was fucking her son’s friend! I normally would not talk about this shit. But for some reason, these niggas [[WhatTheHellHero put that shit on the internet]]. I have no idea why two talented people would do something that fucking lowdown. We’ve all been cheated on. Everybody in here been cheated on. But none of us has ever been interviewed by the person that cheated on us... ''on television!'' ''[[EveryoneHasStandards None of us!]]'' It's like "Hey, I was sucking somebody else's dick, [[AskAStupidQuestion how did that make you feel?]]" [[EtTuBrute She hurt him]] ''[[EtTuBrute way more]]'' [[EtTuBrute than he hurt me.]]
* RefugeInAudacity: Posited in ''Bring The Pain'' that we'd never see a white President with a black Vice President. Why? [[KlingonPromotion Because some black guy would just assassinate the President]]. "Shit, ''I'd'' do it!"

* SadisticChoice: In "Never Scared," he talks about how blacks were forbidden from learning to read, and that a black man driving a buggy would face this: either stop at the stop sign and get beat up for learning how to read, or drive through the intersection and risk crashing.

** Averted in his Netflix special ''Tambourine''. Chris admits that he didn't realize how good he had it with his wife [[BelatedLoveEpiphany until they were going through a divorce]]. In a rare vulnerable moment, Chris acknowledged that he was just not a good husband and that he was being an asshole, even admitting that he cheated on his wife with three other women. He also said he didn't realize how bad divorce proceedings were, and how hard he'd have to fight to get custody of his kids. In his own words, he thought he could "fuck up and just buy it off", learning to his surprise that marriage doesn't work that way. A good third of the special is him emphasizing how important a relationship/marriage really is. He equates a marriage to a band; while sometimes you're center stage, sometimes you're the [[TitleDrop tambourine]] player.

%%* BlackAndNerdy

* BrickJoke: Exploited. In ''Tambourine'' he took up school bullying and joked that "Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face". A year later he hosted the Oscars, where he actually got punched in the face. Then another year later, he makes ''Selective Outrage'', and he makes the joke again, in a different context.

* BumblingDad / DudeWheresMyRespect: Attacks the lack of respect [[GoodParents "real dads"]] get.

* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: In ''Tamborine'', he says that without bullying, people won't be prepared to deal with assholes as adults. Averted later on as he has spoken about the lingering effects of the racial bullying he suffered as the only black child in his school and how it took a long time and extensive therapy to come to terms with it.

%%* ThirdPersonPerson

* TitleDrop: The title of ''Tamborine'' came from his bit about how two people in a marriage aren't equals, comparing it to a band where someone ends up playing the tambourine.

** He would also shake a girl [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan to calm her down]], as seen in Bring The Pain.

He got his break on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in 1990 and left in 1993 (in protest over the lack of good roles on the show, though he had a memorable recurring character [militant black talk show host Nat X] and did do his share of celebrity impressions, like Creator/ArsenioHall, [[Music/PublicEnemy Flava Flav]], Music/MCHammer, Creator/WhoopiGoldberg, Music/MichaelJackson, [[Music/TwoLiveCrew Luther Campbell]], and porn star Long Dong Silver) and became a frequent guest star (not a cast member, as some sources will tell you) on ''Series/InLivingColor'' during its [[SeasonalRot lackluster final season]] as his character Cheap Pete from ''Film/ImGonnaGitYouSucka.''

* TheAtoner: He claims that after his divorce in Tambourine, he's been looking to God, but not for a lot; just a small sprinkle of religion in his life to complement the meal that is himself. In his words, he's "trying to find God...before God finds him."

--> '''White Man''': Nigga, who taught you ''octagon''?![[note]]Ironically, stop signs have a distinctive shape and color, used all around the world, ''specifically'' so that they will be recognized by a driver that can't read it.

--> '''Black Man''': Uh, you mean that octagon thing?
--> '''White Man''': Nigga, who taught you ''octagon''?!

* RootingForTheEmpire: He admits to watching the Will Smith movie, Emancipation, just to root for the Masta beating the slave after Will Smith slapped hip.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In his 2023 Netflix special ''Selective Outrage'', Chris Rock dedicated the last ten minutes of his show to roast both Creator/WillSmith and Creator/JadaPinkettSmith for what occurred in last year's infamous Academy Awards ceremony. Pointing out how out of all the people in the world who were actively harassing both Will and Jada over the latter's adultery scandal, Will chose to take his frustration out [[MisplacedRetribution on Chris]] -- a person who had actually attempted to give the Smiths morale support during the height of the controversy and had ''no chance'' of beating the much larger Will in a physical confrontation if he did choose to strike back. He also took the time to deride how [[DidntThinkThisThrough poorly thought-out]] Will and Jada's decision was to go public with the details of the affair via the "Red Table Talk", arguing that it did far more harm to both their reputations and their marriage than good.

-->'''Chris:''' Will Smith practices [[TitleDrop selective outrage]]. Everybody who really knows, knows I had ''nothing'' to do with that shit. I didn’t have any ''[[DoubleEntendre 'entanglements']].'' -- His wife was fucking her son’s friend! I normally would not talk about this shit. But for some reason, these niggas [[WhatTheHellHero put that shit on the internet]]. I have no idea why two talented people would do something that fucking lowdown. We’ve all been cheated on. Everybody in here been cheated on. But none of us has ever been interviewed by the person that cheated on us... ''on television!'' ''[[EveryoneHasStandards None of us!]]'' Its like "Hey, I was sucking somebody else's dick, [[AskAStupidQuestion how did that make you feel?]]" [[EtTuBrute She hurt him]] ''[[EtTuBrute way more]]'' [[EtTuBrute than he hurt me.]]

* WouldntHitAGirl: Played straight, but only after saying that "Nobody's above an ass-whooping".

Rock really broke into the mainstream with his second {{Creator/HBO}} stand-up special ''Bring the Pain'' in 1996, in particular with his controversial routine therein assessing the state of black America: "Black People vs. Niggas". This led to the successful late night comedy talk show ''Series/TheChrisRockShow'', which aired on HBO from 1997-2000. Several more acclaimed stand-up tours have followed, as have numerous film roles in both live-action and animation (''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'', ''Film/OsmosisJones'', ''[[Series/FargoSeasonFour Fargo]]'') and [[Series/EverybodyHatesChris a sitcom based on his childhood]]. He also wrote the story for, executive produced, and starred in ''[[Film/Spiral2021 Spiral]]'', the ninth entry in the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' series.

* AngryBlackManStereotype: He seems to be this in his early stand-up years but has changed. He has played a MalcolmXerox character on ''SNL'' named Nat X who had his own militant talk show (''The Dark Side with Nat X''). In ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack'' he played a Malcolm Xerox film director.

He got his break on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in 1990 and left in 1993 (in protest over the lack of good roles on the show, though he had a memorable recurring character [militant black talk show host Nat X] and did do his share of celebrity impressions, like Arsenio Hall, [[Music/PublicEnemy Flava Flav]], Music/MCHammer, Creator/WhoopiGoldberg, Music/MichaelJackson, [[Music/TwoLiveCrew Luther Campbell]], and porn star Long Dong Silver) and became a frequent guest star (not a cast member, as some sources will tell you) on ''Series/InLivingColor'' during its [[SeasonalRot lackluster final season]] as his character Cheap Pete from ''Film/ImGonnaGitYouSucka.''

** Also zig-zagged in his
educational short [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8 "How Not to Get Your Ass Kicked by the Police"]]. Are some cops looking for an excuse? Sure, but you still don't have to go out of your way to ''give'' them one.

** Also zig-zagged with his in

educational short [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=uj0mtxXEGE8"How Not to Get Your Ass Kicked by the Police"]]. Are some cops looking for an excuse? Sure, but you still don't have to go out of your way to ''give'' them one.

* TheBadGuysAreCops: Zig-zagged. Chris, as an African-American man, knows all too well the system's against him and others like him. However, as an adult, he is also a property owner and thus begins to reveal a mixed-emotion when dealing with the cops. Yeah, no news is good news when it comes to the police, but he's also not going to call the Crips when someone is stealing his TV. Doubly so when a Crip IS stealing his TV!

* AngryBlackMan: He seems to be this in his early stand-up years but has changed. He has played a MalcolmXerox character on ''SNL'' named Nat X who had his own militant talk show (''The Dark Side with Nat X''). In ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack'' he played a Malcolm Xerox film director.

Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III (born February 7, 1965) is a stand-up comedian, actor and producer. He is generally considered to be the successor to Creator/RichardPryor as the most prominent black comedic actor and comedian.

* AngryBlackMan: He seems to be this in his early stand up years but has changed. He has played a MalcolmXerox character on ''SNL'' named Nat X who had his own militant talk show (''The Dark Side with Nat X''). In ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack'' he played a Malcolm Xerox film director.

** Averted in his Netflix special ''Tambourine''. Chris admits that he didn't realize how good he had it with his wife [[BelatedLoveEpiphany until they were going through a divorce]]. In a rare vulnerable moment, Chris acknowledged that he was just not a good husband, and that he was being an asshole, even admitting that he cheated on his wife with three other women. He also said he didn't realize how bad divorce proceedings were, and how hard he'd have to fight to get custody of his kids. In his own words, he thought he could "fuck up and just buy it off", learning to his surprise that marriage doesn't work that way. A good third of the special is him emphasizing how important a relationship/marriage really is. He equates a marriage to a band; while sometimes you're center stage, sometimes you're the [[TitleDrop tambourine]] player.

* HatesReading: In one part of his "Black People vs. Niggas" routine, he states that "niggas" love not knowing things, and further notes that they adamantly refuse to read books.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Claims that any kind of bigotry is foolish, because whatever you hate will end up in your family just to teach you a lesson. Hate gays? Your son will be gay. Hate Latinos? Your daughter will [[DatingWhatDaddyHates exclusively date Latinos]].

--> '''Black Man:''': Uh, you mean that octagon thing?

* NWordPrivileges: Does a whole routine explaining when it would acceptable for non-blacks to use the n-word. [[ShaggyDogStory Long story short]] - only under ''very'' specific circumstances, with a police report.

** He eventually retired his "Niggas vs Black People" rant when too many actual racists used it to justify themselves.

* FreakyFridayFlip: In the film ''Film/DownToEarth.'' Much of the comedy is derived from examining race and class conflicts.

* Irony: He has a pool in his house but didn't learn to swim until he was fifty-five years old, a fact he was quick to joke about upon revealing it.