Chris Rock says he’s fired people for not listening to women on set

Actor spoke to Nicole Kidman for Variety interview series

Chris Rock has revealed that he has previously fired people for not listening to women on set.

The comedian took part in Variety’s Actors on Actors series with Nicole Kidman, when the pair discussed the Kidman’s turn as Lucille Ball in Amazon’s forthcoming film Being the Ricardos.

With Kidman describing Ball as a “trailblazer”, Rock said: “Let’s not downplay the fact 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.’”

He continued: “It is still [tricky]. 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.’”

Rock said that his mother had taught him to listen to women, adding that Joy Behar and Susie Essman took him under their wings as a young comedian.

“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,” he added.

Last month, Rock made headlines after claiming that “cancel culture” has led to “unfunny” and “boring” material from comedians.