Chris Rock’s “Total Blackout” comedy tour is in full swing, as reported by the Inquisitr . Although Rock made a stop in Cleveland at the Playhouse Square on Wednesday, April 19, Chris warned the crowd that his special guest comedians for the night would not include Dave Chappelle, like when Chappelle joined Rock for a 90-minute set in New Orleans.
Although the opening night show for Rock in Cleveland was sold out, Cleveland.com reports that there were still single seats available for Thursday, April 20, at the time the article was published. Rock mounted the stage on Wednesday night still wearing a bathrobe and shaving cream on his face in order to introduce Arsenio Hall to his hometown Cleveland crowd. Being met with a rousing standing ovation, Arsenio waxed nostalgic about being from Kinsman Road, and at one point, robbing houses in the very same city that he was now returning home to in order to perform with Rock.
Meanwhile, Rock told the Cleveland crowd to just wait and see who would show up Thursday night, hinting that his Thursday night show would be even better.
However, on Wednesday evening, Chris proceeded to open his soul to the sold out crowd, covering everything from President Donald Trump to joking about teaching his daughters about racism by making everything white in his home either hot, heavy or painful. But the real nitty-gritty of Rock’s soul became apparent when Rock spoke of his painful divorce after 16 years of marriage to Malaak Compton Rock.
So, he doesn’t love his wife: Chris Rock, Malaak Compton finalize divorce https://t.co/sPD4E2064A pic.twitter.com/nChze0EH5h
— Joseph Barracato (@JoeBarracato) August 23, 2016
Chris compared his 16-year marriage to that of his parents’ marriage, saying that even though his parents had more years, Rock was married longer because his dad worked 12-hour days, and he didn’t speak to his wife all day long.
“My father actually wanted to talk to my mother when he came home.”
But Rock admitted that he wasn’t there to bash his ex-wife. Chris took the full blame for the failure of his marriage, blaming his former porn addiction, his adultery and Rock’s ineptitude at talking with his wife as the reason why he ended up in divorce court. Rock spoke of being amped up after his shows on the road and failing to be faithful, telling the crowd that he cheated with three women at different times during his marriage. There was a fling with a woman who worked at Sephora, a dalliance with a former member of Destiny’s Child (not Beyonce), and the time he slept with Miss Kansas City. Rock wouldn’t tell the Cleveland crowd which year that Miss Kansas City won.
Rock joked about his porn addiction causing him to be 15 minutes late everywhere he went, and how the addiction to porn negatively affected him in other ways. Similar to Terry Crews porn addiction nearly destroying his marriage and men following “NoFap” , which has helped other men overcome porn addiction, Rock spoke about porn causing him to not be able to look people in the eye and making him miss social cues. With therapy, Rock said he overcame his porn addiction.
“When talking about addiction, people usually think about tobacco, drugs or alcohol dependency.” https://t.co/Mu6BeoTlSV
— NoFap (@NoFap) October 13, 2016
However, Rock’s healing wasn’t in time enough to save his marriage. Rock warned the men about wives who have mentally, emotionally or physically checked out of their marriages long ago.
“She’s not here with you. She’s here with me.”
Chris joked with the men in the audience that some of their wives only came to the show to see him. Rock said while men can be dumb about cheating and get caught at night, that some women would never get caught cheating because they do it at 1:30 in the afternoon.
“I just found out that Pilates doesn’t exist.”
But Rock’s show was like marital therapy, as the glistening pain in Chris’ eyes could be seen from the fifth row as Rock asked the crowd not to applaud his divorce. Rock advised married couples to simply have sex and do things together. And he told people in Cleveland to either go all in on their marriages or get out, instead of threatening divorce.
“If you’re gonna leave, leave. Either go all in or get the f*** out.”
Rock warned others to take an honest assessment of themselves if they were thinking of leaving.
“Stand in the mirror naked and examine what you’re taking to market.”
Chris evaluated his own worth once he was single and said that he spotted Rihanna at a function. Thinking his post-divorce status would be a perfect time to see what was up with the now 29-year-old Rihanna, Rock was disappointed when the meet-and-greet didn’t go as the 52-year-old Rock planned.
“You know how you forget how old you are? Rihanna looked at my like I was her aunt. Then she asked me where Ray J went. Don’t ask me about no f****** Ray J!”
Although Rihanna seemingly shot down Rock, at least Chris has a burgeoning relationship with God to look forward to. Rock recalled the days when he went hunting with his grandfather, a reverend who called Chris a f***** for crying upon killing a squirrel. But that un-Christianlike behavior didn’t stop Rock from now talking about finding God before God finds him, as reported by Vibe .
It’s apparent that Rock’s divorce had a big impact on him, even as Chris seemingly devalued the role of housewives by claiming that they are the smartest women on the planet because they found men to work for them like slaves; as if raising kids was a cakewalk for full-time moms.
“I need a husband.”
Rock joked about needing a husband who would work for him. But Chris explained how horrible divorce court could be, warning that no black man ever wants to be in court anyway. For Rock, fighting for custody of his kids meant bringing in photos of their bedrooms and a fridge full of food to prove to the judge that he could very well care for the kids, while mothers usually find favor as long as the kids are breathing.
Chris said that he knew he made it when he realized that the person with the most money has to pay for the opposing lawyer’s fees as well, and he likened that notion to paying a hit man to kill him. But in the room full of lawyers, his estranged wife, and others, Rock realized that all the people there were there so that they could receive some of his money, and everyone in the room would be leaving richer while he’d be leaving with less money. That’s when Rock said he knew he made it.
Rock mentioned his recent role on Empire and told his fans not to worry if they saw him making questionable acting choices in the future because he’s been through a divorce that cost money.
[Featured Image by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for IMG]