Chris Rock is looking back candidly at the end of his marriage while making it clear that he is ready for the conversation surrounding Will Smith’s onstage Oscars slap to stop defining his work.
In a wide-ranging new GQ cover story, Rock discussed his divorce from Malaak Compton-Rock after 19 years of marriage, the personal changes he has made since then and the creative projects now commanding his attention. He is the first of the magazine’s Men of the Year honorees to be unveiled this year, joining fellow honorees including Matt Damon, Andrew Garfield, Denis Villeneuve and Michael Rider.
Rock Reflects on His Marriage and Therapy
Rock took responsibility for his part in the breakdown of his marriage, connecting that period of his life to his former pornography use without claiming it was the divorce’s sole cause.
“I was not a great husband. I watched a lot of porn,” he told GQ senior special correspondent Zach Baron. “I don’t watch porn anymore. I haven’t watched porn in five, six years.”
The comedian also described the extended process of rebuilding his personal and financial life after the split. “Nobody has a successful divorce, so that takes time,” he said. “Then once it’s done, you’re not sitting on the money you had before, so now you got to really make some money. So you go on tour, or two tours.”
Rock said that stretch included extensive stand-up work, efforts to put his life back together, the pandemic and what he characterized as “a bunch of nonsense.”
Therapy became another part of that personal reckoning. Rock said his private life and his relationships were not where he wanted them to be when he sought help.
“We do have this thing where everybody’s like — they brag about their therapy,” he said. “Put it this way, my personal life wasn’t what I wanted it to be, and I’ll leave it at that. And that’s my relationship with everybody. So yeah, I went in there crying like a bitch. Like: What the fuck is going on?”
He Wants the Oscars Slap Left in the Past
Rock was equally direct when the interview turned to the night Smith slapped him onstage at the Oscars. Although he accepts that the incident will remain attached to his public story, he does not want it to overshadow the career he had already built or the work he is producing now.
“Yeah. Something happened. It wasn’t cool. And I would like to move on,” Rock said. “I had a nice career before it, and I know there’s a part of that that’s going to follow me the rest of my life.”
He then pointed to the volume of material currently on his desk, including jokes, movie scripts, television shows and a book.
“I have a plethora of art I’m trying to get out, and that’s what I want you to pay attention to, not some crazy night,” he said.
Rock also acknowledged that personal questions are now part of operating in what he described as a “gossipy” culture. He criticized the appetite for gossip and what he sees as the spread of false claims, arguing that this dynamic has become a major part of entertainment journalism.
Writing, Directing and a Possible Stand-Up Return
Rock’s immediate professional focus includes Misty Green, his new film, which arrives on Netflix on Nov. 9 after making its theatrical debut through A24 last month. He also plans to direct more feature films.
A return to the stage remains possible, but Rock stopped short of announcing another stand-up special or setting a timetable. Having already made “like six, seven specials,” he said he would only do another if he believed he could make it meaningfully distinct from what came before.
Borrowing a term used in football, Rock said the deciding factor would be whether he could “get separation.”
“I’m not announcing anything or anything, but if I do it, I want to do it right,” he explained. “As long as I can get separation, I’ll do it.”
For now, his stated routine is straightforward: “I’m going to write. That’s basically what it boils down to. Wake up, write. That’s it. Just write, write, write, write, write. Get it all out.”
ShowBiz Take
Rock’s comments matter because they place two heavily personal chapters—the collapse of his marriage and the Oscars confrontation—inside a broader creative reset. He is not denying either subject or minimizing its impact. Instead, he is taking responsibility where he believes it belongs, describing the work he has done on himself and asking audiences to focus on what he creates next.
That next phase is already taking shape across several forms. Misty Green has a confirmed Netflix date, Rock intends to direct more films, and he says he is developing scripts, television projects and a book. Stand-up is the one area where he remains deliberately noncommittal.
What Happens Next?
Misty Green begins streaming on Netflix on Nov. 9. Beyond that release, Rock’s next stand-up move remains uncertain: he has not announced a new special, but he has left the door open if he can find an approach that feels sufficiently different. His clearest commitment is to keep writing and move the public conversation toward the work still ahead.