Chris Rock: ‘I still bomb on stage’
Chris Rock says he still bombs on stage.
Despite being one of the most successful comedians in the world – with Netflix recently paying him a reported $40 million for two comedy specials – Chris, 52, admitted there are nights when his material does not go down well with his audience.
He told GQ: "It’s not bombing to you, but it’s bombing to me. I do like 20, 30 shows in clubs before I even go into a big arena, so I get all my bombing done on a smaller scale. It’s not like I bomb the whole show, but ‘Oooh, that first ten minutes was horrible.’ Then I dig myself out of the hole. The real danger is you get too famous–you learn how to manipulate your instrument in a way that you make people laugh without really writing good jokes, which happens to lots of funny people. They figure out the rhythms of funny and stop with the actual writing."
Chris’ sitcom ‘Everybody Hates Chris’ was based on the bullying and racism he endured as a child and he revealed that after it aired, a former teacher wrote to him to say sorry for how he had been treated.
He explained: "We got most of it. I think I went easy on some people. I went easy on some of the bullying and racist crap that would happen when I was in school – [comments] by teachers and maintenance men and stuff. People would say unbelievable things to you. It’s like, ‘Wow, you said that to a kid.
"There was a teacher – I won’t name her – who sent me a letter of apology about how horrible she feels that she let certain things happen.
"I’m way over it. I’ve channelled it into something else, so I’m fine. But if you contributed to a kid having a bad experience, and you’re the adult, that’s got to eat at you a little bit."
