Michael Ealy Recalls Horrible Experience with Chris Rock, ‘He Was Just An A–hole’
A Change In The Winds…
“Some people don’t get it when I tell this story, but to say that to me was beyond disrespectful — to the point where Kerry was like (laughs), ‘Chris, no,’” Michael Ealy continues. “I still love Kerry to this day because she was like, ‘What’s wrong with you? That was just wrong.’”
“He had an entourage of people and they were very nice to me, but he was just an a**hole. You never know what somebody’s going through. Wherever he was in that point in his life, he probably wasn’t very happy.”
Of course, that experience stuck with Ealy for years. Resultingly, he held a serious grudge against Rock, though having admired him.
Nevertheless, they crossed paths again…
In some years later at the Golden Globes, Michael was nominated for Sleeper Cell. According to Ealy, he ran into Chris on the way to the bathroom.
“And you know what he said? ‘I love your work and I apologize for what I said,’” Michael recalls. That’s when he said he went into tears.
“He somehow remembered what he said to me and that it was wrong — and he owned up to it and apologized and told me he loved my work and he was a fan,” the actor recounts.
“That’s when the crying happened [laughs]! For him to acknowledge it was huge — it meant everything to me. And he’s kind of a dope person because of that. I forgive easy, but can you imagine if he hadn’t remembered that we had worked together on a movie before? That would have been the second punch, right?”
