Taking a page from fellow film industry vet Donald Glover's book, Chris Rock is now complaining about how the fear of being cancelled is ruining movies, television and comedy.
In an interview with The Breakfast Club, hosts Angela Yee and DJ Envy asked the actor/filmmaker about his thoughts on how so-called cancel culture is affecting the industry — and Rock didn't hold back.
"It's weird when you're a comedian because when you're a comedian, when the audience doesn't laugh, we get the message," he began. "Like you don't really have to cancel us. Because we get the message. They're not laughing. Our feelings are hurt. When we do something and people aren't laughing we get it. I don't understand why people feel the need to go beyond that."
Explaining that he thinks film and TV have suffered in the era of cancel culture, Rock continued: "What happens is that everybody gets safe and, when everyone gets safe and nobody tries anything, 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 people are scared to make a move and that's not a good place to be."
Thankfully, the Spiral director refrained from treading into Alec Baldwin territory when addressing the subject. Instead, he offered a pretty tame take, explaining that while the fear of facing consequences for saying or doing offensive things can make artists too cautious with their work, the feedback from audiences can be helpful in making "adjustments" to art too.
"We should have the right to fail because failure is a part of art. It's the ultimate cancel," he added.
Watch the interview below.
In an interview with The Breakfast Club, hosts Angela Yee and DJ Envy asked the actor/filmmaker about his thoughts on how so-called cancel culture is affecting the industry — and Rock didn't hold back.
"It's weird when you're a comedian because when you're a comedian, when the audience doesn't laugh, we get the message," he began. "Like you don't really have to cancel us. Because we get the message. They're not laughing. Our feelings are hurt. When we do something and people aren't laughing we get it. I don't understand why people feel the need to go beyond that."
Explaining that he thinks film and TV have suffered in the era of cancel culture, Rock continued: "What happens is that everybody gets safe and, when everyone gets safe and nobody tries anything, 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 people are scared to make a move and that's not a good place to be."
Thankfully, the Spiral director refrained from treading into Alec Baldwin territory when addressing the subject. Instead, he offered a pretty tame take, explaining that while the fear of facing consequences for saying or doing offensive things can make artists too cautious with their work, the feedback from audiences can be helpful in making "adjustments" to art too.
"We should have the right to fail because failure is a part of art. It's the ultimate cancel," he added.
Watch the interview below.