Chris Rock Says Today’s Woke Culture Has Forgotten How To Forgive as He Promotes ‘Misty Green’

Chris Rock has never been one to shy away from controversial topics, and his latest comments on wokeness and forgiveness are proving that once again. The 61-year-old comedian has been making the rounds to promote ‘Misty Green’, his first feature as a director since 2014’s ‘Top Five’, and the conversation quickly moved well beyond the movie.

The A24 film, which Rock wrote and directed, stars Rosalind Eleazar as a former Emmy-winning actress struggling to revive her career in an unforgiving Hollywood. The cast also includes Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Anna Kendrick, Topher Grace, Anthony Anderson and Rock himself, and it opens in theaters on October 9 following its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12.

That theme of forgiveness is now at the center of Rock’s latest headline-grabbing remarks. Appearing on The New York Times podcast ‘The Interview‘ with host David Marchese, Rock argued that what he called “wokeness” has created a less forgiving world, likening the current moment to the Old Testament, which he said has no forgiveness.

Rock was careful to frame his critique. He said it is great that marginalized people have a voice and that advocating for anyone who feels marginalized is a good thing, but argued that the movement has lost its capacity for grace.

Leaning on his faith, the comedian said that as a Christian, he believes God forgives. He joked that because the Old Testament didn’t work, a remix had to be written in the form of the New Testament. He also stressed that the problem isn’t helping people, which he said the world needs more of. In his view, the trouble begins when those ideals become institutionalized.

To illustrate his point, Rock offered what he described as “half a joke” about the Salem witch hunts. He suggested that the first few witches caught might have actually been witches, but once a “witch office” opens, people start inventing cases because there’s overhead to justify.

Despite the pointed analogy, Rock didn’t dismiss the era entirely. When Marchese asked whether anything redeeming came out of the post-George Floyd period, which the host called “woke 1.0,” Rock said he was glad it happened because it needed to happen.

The conversation began with a question about the role forgiveness plays in ‘Misty Green’. Rock explained that you don’t truly know if you love someone until you have to forgive them, describing real love as choosing to stay around someone even after they let you down.

Check out the new trailer for Chris Rock’s MISTY GREEN starring Rosalind Eleazar

In theaters on October 9th from @A24 pic.twitter.com/E9iPUbzRsn

— Matt Neglia @NYFF (@NextBestPicture) September 24, 2026

He then recalled a conversation about an unnamed friend who had been canceled. When another friend questioned how he could stay close to that person, Rock said that if you’re only friends with people when they’re good, they aren’t really your friends.

Rock was clear that this doesn’t mean excusing everything. He said forgiveness doesn’t mean condoning abusive behavior, adding that reprimanding and holding friends accountable is also part of friendship.

The comments arrive during a reflective chapter for the comedian. ‘Misty Green’ is what Rock calls a “tiny” movie, made for roughly $5 million, and it is his first major project since ‘Selective Outrage’, the 2023 Netflix special in which he first addressed the Will Smith incident in detail.

Rock has repeatedly described himself as changed. “I’m a different guy,” he told Variety ahead of the film’s TIFF debut, also revealing that he’d only return to the Oscars if he were nominated.

Whether audiences agree with his take or not, Rock has clearly found a theme that runs through both his film and his public persona. With ‘Misty Green’ days away from release, his views on second chances are likely to keep sparking debate.

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