Chris Rock has said he’s previously fired people on set because “they couldn’t listen to a woman.”
The comedian recounted his actions to Nicole Kidman in a recent Variety ‘Actors on Actors’ interview.
Rock said: “I’ve fired people because they couldn’t listen to a woman. I was like, ‘How come he’s not doing…?’ And then I realise, ‘Oh.’”
The pair were speaking in the context of Kidman’s upcoming role as Lucille Ball in Amazon’s Being The Ricardos.
Speaking of Ball, Kidman said: “She was a trailblazer. She formed her production company..what she was also dealing with in terms of everything that artists deal with, where you’re up against big corporations. And you’re like, ‘No, this is art.’”
Rock added: “Let’s not downplay…how hard it must’ve been to be a woman at that time going through, you know, just like, ‘I’m the boss. Not him. I’m the boss.’”
Rock went on to say he’s never had an issue with working with a woman as boss, saying it’s something that goes back to his strong relationship with his mother and working with women in comedy.
He said: “I just always was around these powerful women…I mean, even in comedy, the clubs were run by women.”
“Everybody talks about how stand-up is a boys’ club, but stand-up’s been run by a lot of women for a lot of years.”
Last month, the new Saw reboot, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw, which stars Rock arrived in cinemas on may 17.
The film is a reboot of the long-running horror franchise and focuses on three New York City cops – played by Rock, Samuel L. Jackson and Max Minghella – as they investigate a series of grisly murders that have echoes of the city’s past.
Reviewing the film, NME said: “Spiral is best when one part of itself – grim horror or police procedural – dominates.
“Early moments featuring Banks skipping across crime scenes, throwing out sarky one-liners play to Rock’s strengths. Similarly, the twist-filled finale feels like a classic Saw showdown.”
