Chris Rock is now responding to the Jimmy Fallon blackface controversy from earlier this summer. Fallon came under fire when a Saturday Night Live sketch from 2000 resurfaced of the comedian in blackface while doing an impression of Rock. Fallon has since apologized over the situation after taking some time to think about it. Jamie Foxx came out and defended Fallon at the time, stating that what the comedian did was not “blackface,” saying, “You are all the way good… keep doing you my friend! You are necessary.”
Chris Rock seems to have pretty much the same reaction to the Jimmy Fallon blackface controversy as Jaime Foxx did. A lot of people came to Fallon’s defense when the Saturday Night Live sketch resurfaced, with many stating he was doing an impression and then he did not mean anything hurtful by it. Rock had this to say about the matter.
“Hey, man, I’m friends with Jimmy. Jimmy’s a great guy. And he didn’t mean anything. A lot of people want to say intention doesn’t matter, but it does. And I don’t think Jimmy Fallon intended to hurt me. And he didn’t.”
However, Chris Rock does believe that blackface is bad overall. Since the murder of George Floyd, blackface became a hot topic again and a lot of TV shows and movies were called out for using it, with some going as far as to remove episodes or put in introduction disclaimers. After talking about Jimmy Fallon, Rock was asked whether the recent push to expunge blackface from any form of past entertainment had gone too far. Rock explains.
“If I say they are, then I’m the worst guy in the world. There’s literally one answer that ends my whole career. Blackface ain’t cool, OK? That’s my quote. Blackface is bad. Who needs it? It’s so sad, we live in a world now where you have to say, I am so against cancer. ‘I just assumed you liked cancer.’ No, no, no, I am so against it. You have to state so many obvious things you’re against.”
TV shows like 30 Rock, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Scrubs, and more went through and deleted entire episodes from streaming platforms. Blackface scenes have also largely been edited out of content from streamers like Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix. HBO Max went in and took Gone with the Wind off of its service while it put together a new introduction to talk about the time when the movie was made.
Elsewhere in the new interview, Chris Rock spoke about his excitement for Fargo season 4, which premieres on September 27th. The comedian/actor says his role in the show “is the best part I’ve ever, ever, ever had. I hope it’s not the best part I ever have.” Rock went on to say that he has always been stiving for “greatness” and talked about his old friend Adam Sandler. “You see what Sandler did with Uncut Gems. But you’ve got to get the call and be ready when your number’s called,” he said. You can read the rest of the lengthy interview with Chris Rock over at The New York Times.
