Chris Rock wasn’t a ‘great husband’ because he ‘watched a lot of porn’

Chris Rock has admitted he wasn’t a “great husband” to Malaak Compton-Rock because he “watched a lot of porn”.

Chris Rock has admitted he wasn’t a “great husband” because he “watched a lot of porn”.

The Misty Green actor split from Malaak Compton-Rock – the mother of his daughters Lola, 24, and 22-year-old Zahra – back in 2014 after 18 years of marriage, and while he isn’t “proud” of his past behaviour, he understands he had to “go through” his experiences to be the person he is now.

Speaking to GQ magazine after being named one of their Men of the Year, he said: “I was not a great husband.

“I watched a lot of porn. I don’t watch porn anymore. I haven’t watched porn in five, six years.

“It’s not anything I’m proud of, but it’s something I had to go through.”

The 61-year-old comic admitted he was ultimately “severely humbled” when he realised he wasn’t as powerful as he thought.

He continued: “It’s like you watch a Marvel movie, and the guy, he has to test his powers. You know what I mean? Every Marvel movie, man or woman, they have to test their powers.

“They’re a**holes. They get these powers and they’re a**holes, and they’re racing trains and they’re lifting up ocean liners and they try to go to the sun, then they crash down because they realise they’re not God. And then they start helping people.

“I tested my powers. I definitely realised I wasn’t God or anywhere near him, and I was severely humbled, as I should have been.”

Chris recently admitted he has therapy to combat his insecurity because while he doesn’t have doubts about his own “status”, he can’t help but feel anxious when he looks at the work of other stars.

He told The New York Times newspaper: “I’ve been doing a lot of therapy the last few years, post-Covid, and a lot of it is about not feeling insecure. A lot of it is about ‘you’re enough.’

“But I don’t ever really feel insecure about my ‘status’, per se.

“Occasionally I’ll meet people that are obviously working harder than me and that’ll make me feel insecure. Adam Sandler, Rick Rubin. You’re like, ‘How many things are you doing right now?’

“And some people are better with their kids than me. I think I’m a good dad.”

Chris believes therapy has helped him become a more “empathetic” person.

Discussing his film work, he said: “Saying there are stark differences between men and women is a perfect device for comedy. It doesn’t work in a drama.

“I’ll say this: Part of all this therapy is developing empathy and really being able to get inside of another character.

“So the last four or five years, I’m a way more empathetic person. It also helps that my daughters are like grown-ups, so I really watch women around my house.

“My daughters don’t forgive my sins, but they give me an education that I wouldn’t normally have.”

The Top Five actor and director took stock of his life and his choices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asked why it had taken 12 years to return to directing, he said: “Life, COVID, I got divorced, which meant I had to make real money. Maybe I had some other scripts that the market didn’t respond to. It’s not like I was sitting around. But COVID was a time to be like, OK, what am I doing with my life?

“And other s*** I don’t feel like talking about. I had a lot of stuff going on the last 12 years.”