Chris Rock Speaks Out Against Cancel Culture: 'People Are Scared to Talk'

Chris Rock is taking a stand against cancel culture.

The problem is, "people are scared to talk," and that is negatively impacting the entertainment industry, he said during an appearance on Power 105.1’s "The Breakfast Club."

During the conversation, Rock pointed out that, in regards to comedy, having an audience not laugh at a comedian's jokes was enough to send a clear message to them that they are not funny. 

"You don’t really have to cancel us, ‘cos we get the message — they’re not laughing! … When we do something and people aren’t laughing, we get it," Rock said, adding that he did not understand why people felt the need to go "beyond that" because it was "disrespecting the audience."

"Like, 'oh you think you know more than the audience' ... the audience knows more than everybody," he said. 

Not allowing comedians to work creates an environment where "everybody gets safe," Rock noted. As a result, they are not prepared to try anything new and that is when "things get boring."

"I see a lot of unfunny comedians, I see unfunny TV shows, I see unfunny awards shows, I see unfunny movies — because everybody’s scared to make a move," he said.

"And that’s not a place to be … Now you got a place where people are scared to talk," Rock continued, saying it was bizarre, "especially in America."

Rock admitted that in certain instances, there were things that did not need to be said. He made this clear last year while discussing the push for the removal of blackface from movies and TV shows during an interview with The New York Times.

"If I say [they’ve gone too far], then I’m the worst guy in the world," he said. "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?"

The actor was disappointed that people even had to point out that the practice was wrong when it should be a given.

"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," he noted. 

That being said, Rock was quick to defend Jimmy Fallon, who came under fire for a blackface impersonation he did of the comedian. Fallon faced public scrutiny last year after a video clip of a 2000 "Saturday Night Live" skit in which he wore blackface and pretended to be Rock resurfaced on social media.

"I’m friends with Jimmy," Rock said. "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."

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