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A public breakup. A hit Netflix special and reeling from the effects of the Oscar slap, many comedy fans might be wondering: who is he? Chris Rock’s wife?
In March 2023, Rock released his second Netflix Comedy Special Selective outrage. Throughout his set, the comedian teased a few slap jokes by saying “words hurt. Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.” He ended his set by calling Smith “Suge Smith,” a reference to the currently jailed CEO of Death Row Records, Suge Knight, who was sentenced to 28 years in prison in 2018 for manslaughter. Rock alleged that Smith was taking anger out on him over his wife’s “affairs” with musician August Alsina, which was discussed on his Red Table Talk show in 2020.
Although Rock had a very difficult and private marriage, he was open to talking about the failures of marriage and divorce. So who is Chris Rock’s ex-wife? Read more below to find out.
Who is Chris Rock’s ex-wife?
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Who is Chris Rock’s ex-wife? Chris Rock’s ex-wife is Malaak Compton-Rock, a former publicist turned philanthropist.
Compton-Rock met the comedian when he crashed the part of Essence in 1997 according to a Rolling Stone profile. They courted on both sides of the coast (she traveled often for her job, coordinating celebrity reps like actor Laurence Fishburne for UNICEF). She spoke about her relationship with the medium. “I feel like I know her father,” she said. “I don’t think a day goes by that one of the brothers doesn’t tell a story about his dad. He and his brothers Andre and Tony are incredibly close. His father emphasized the union, and they are really beautiful together.
Compton-Rock turned to philanthropy when he founded the Project Angelrock Foundationserving low socioeconomic youth in the US and South Africa, in 2008. He is also a board member of the Children’s Defense Fund New York and the author of If A Village Is Needed, Build One: How I Found Meaning Through A Life Of Service And Over 100 Ways You Can Toowhich was released in 2010.
“The best part is having a partner”, Rock said in 2007 to be married “There is no real worst part. I’m not going to say there is a worse part. I mean, I’m a comedian, comedians like to work alone. So maybe he’s not the ideal guy to marry, in that sense.”
How many children do Chris Rock and Malaak Compton-Rock have?
How many children do Chris Rock and Malaak Compton-Rock have? Chris Rock and Malaak Compton Rock have two children together, Lola Simone Rock and Zahra Savannah Rock. Compton-Rock has an adoptive daughter from South Africa, Ntobi.
In his Netflix special, Rock also talks about his kids and how he got one of them kicked out of school, saying, “I love my kids, I love my kids, but I don’t like them. I don’t like my children. Do you know the reason why I don’t like my children? Because my children are rich. My children are rich and spoiled. I know some people say ‘Chris, you’re rich.’ Yes, I am rich. But I identify as poor. My pronouns are ‘broken’”.
Why did Chris Rock and Malaak Compton-Rock get divorced?
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Why did Chris Rock and Malaak Compton-Rock get divorced? Rock filed for divorce in 2014. “After much contemplation and 19 years of marriage, Chris and I have decided to go our separate ways. Being lucky enough to lead a life of service working with the most vulnerable makes me acutely aware of life’s blessings, even when faced with difficulties,” Compton-Rock said in a statement at the time. “While I recognize that this is a significant change, my children remain the center of my life and their well-being is my top priority. It is in this spirit that I sincerely ask that your privacy and the privacy of our family be respected during this transition in our lives.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone He admitted that he cheated on his wife and that he had an addiction to pornography that contributed to the ruin of his marriage. He called his Total Blackout comedy tour in 2014 “the alimony tour. First I have to earn some money… When you get divorced, you have to start over,” he told the magazine. “You have to restart. It’s not a collapse, but something in your life broke.”
“You don’t want to get a divorce, I’m telling you right now,” Rock tells the audience on the set of his Tambourine comedy special. “If you have someone you love, hold on tight. I had to pay a lawyer to get me divorced,” she says. “That’s like hiring a hitman to kill you.”
“I was not a good husband,” Rock said. Then he becomes more specific: “I was addicted to pornography. When you’re in a relationship, you’re in a band,” Rock explained on his comedy special Tambourine. “And when you’re in a band, you have roles that you play in the band. Sometimes you sing solo and sometimes you’re on the tambourine (hence the name of the special). And if you’re on the tambourine, play well…because nobody wants to see a crazy tambourine player.”
“It was my fault, I was a piece of shit,” Rock said on his comedy tour in 2014. “Was it my fault?” He lets it hang in the air for a moment. He then mutters, “Who the hell knows?” He talked about how the divorce affected his public image. “My faults are magnified. Your partner, if he really loves you, has a high opinion of you. And you let them down.
The divorce was finalized in 2016. He opened up more about his infidelity in his special, where Rolling Stone described it as “he gets incredibly specific, describing three women: a famous, a semi-famous and a member of the retail class.” He says: “Would I ever marry again? Not if it would cure AIDS.
What was Chris Rock and Malaak Compton-Rock’s divorce settlement?
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How much did the divorce cost Chris Rock? It is reported that he paid a large part of the divorce settlement. Divorce papers obtained by page six says that she and Rock agreed to custody of the children 50-50. Court documents say Compton-Rock deserves payment “commensurate with the marital standard of living” because of all of her child-rearing and charitable efforts.
He claimed he “bought a house around the corner” in his first Netflix comedy special to make the divorce “smooth” or easier on his family. “It wasn’t enough,” she says. A family court judge wanted photos of the beds where her daughters would sleep, as well as photos of her refrigerator and the food it contained. I’m like, ‘What have you heard about me?’” she joked. I’m Chris Rock, not Chris Brown. “But it worked, I have my children.”
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