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<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Tavis Smiley is defending himself following the suspension of his PBS talk show over allegations of sexual misconduct.&#xa0;</strong></li><li><strong>PBS suspended "Tavis Smiley" following an investigation that produced "multiple, credible allegations" of misconduct.</strong></li><li><strong>The allegations included engaging in&#xa0;sexual relationships with multiple subordinates and creating a verbally abusive and threatening environment.</strong></li><li><strong>Smiley appeared on "Good Morning America" on Monday to reiterate and expand on a defense he first made last week, following his show's suspension.</strong></li></ul><p>&#xa0;</p><p>Talk-show host Tavis Smiley continues to defend himself against the sexual misconduct allegations that resulted in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tavis-smiley-sexual-misconduct-pbs-2017-12">indefinite suspension of his eponymous PBS show</a> earlier this month.</p><p>Smiley appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday, saying that PBS "made a huge mistake" in suspending him from its network.</p><p><span>PBS told <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tavis-smiley-sexual-misconduct-pbs-2017-12">Variety</a> last week that it had "engaged an outside law firm to conduct an investigation immediately after learning of troubling allegations regarding Mr. Smiley." </span><span>The investigation found "multiple, credible allegations" of misconduct that included sexual relationships with multiple subordinates and creating a verbally abusive and threatening environment.</span></p><p><span>The 53-year-old host immediately defended himself in <a href="https://twitter.com/tavissmiley/status/941178017241432064">a video posted to Facebook</a>&#xa0;last week, after the news broke of his show's suspension.</span></p><p><span>"To be clear, I have never groped, coerced, or exposed myself inappropriately to any workplace colleague in my entire broadcast career, covering 6 networks over 30 years," he said in the video.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Smiley reiterated his defense on "GMA," saying that the relationships he had with subordinates were consensual.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>"I celebrate and applaud these women who had the courage to come out," he said. He also expressed concern that, in today's environment, "people end up being guilty simply by accusations."</span></p><p><span>Smiley went on to deny the accusations that his show had a threatening work environment.</span></p><p><span> "The environments are intense at times," he said. "I'm not an angry black man and this notion of a hostile environment just doesn't fit."</span><span></span></p><p>Following PBS' suspension of his show, Walmart, a previous sponsor of "Tavis Smiley," and an independent book distributor that Smiley worked with <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/sexual-misconduct/walmart-book-distributor-suspend-ties-tavis-smiley-n830096">both distanced themselves</a> from the host.</p><p>Smiley concluded his "GMA" interview by saying,&#xa0;<span>"PBS made a huge mistake here."</span></p><p><span>"They need to fix it. They need to correct it," he said. "I'm going to do anything to protect my reputation."</span></p><p><em>Business Insider has reached out to PBS for further comment.</em></p><p><span>Watch the interview below:</span></p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/10-details-missed-avengers-infinity-war-trailer-spiderman-thor-hulk-captain-america-black-panther-iron-man-2017-11">10 things you missed in the 'Avengers: Infinity War' trailer</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

Tavis Smiley disputes sexual misconduct allegations and suspension: 'PBS made a huge mistake'

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><p class="source">NBC</p></div></div>Talk-show host <keyword id="949094" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tavis-Smiley">Tavis Smiley</keyword> was sharply critical of President <keyword id="15962" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Barack-Obama">Barack Obama</keyword>'s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-trayvon-martin-zimmerman-verdict-2013-7" target="_blank">comments on the case involving Trayvon Martin on Friday</a>, theorizing Obama was "pushed to the podium" and that his comments were as "weak as pre-sweetened Kool Aid."</p>
<p><span>"I appreciate and applaud the fact that the president did finally show up," Smiley said on NBC's "Meet the Press."</span></p>
<p><span>"But this town has been spinning a story that's not altogether true. He did not walk to the podium for an impromptu address to the nation. He was pushed to that podium. A week of protest outside the White House, pressure building on him inside the White House pushed him to that podium. So I'm glad he finally arrived."</span></p>
<p><span>But Smiley said that Obama didn't do enough to spell out a clear future direction for race relations in the U.S., saying Obama was "leading from behind" on the issue.</span></p>
<p>"But when he left the podium, he still had not answered the most important question, that Keynesian question, where do we go from here?" Smiley said. "That question this morning remains unanswered, at least from the perspective of the president. And the bottom line is this is not Libya, this is America. On this issue, you cannot lead from behind."</p>
<p>Obama seemed to surprise even the White House press corps when he showed up in the briefing room on Friday, and many thought it was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-trayvon-martin-speech-race-zimmerman-trial-verdict-racial-profiling-2013-7" target="_blank">one of the more important addresses he has given to the nation</a>.</p>
<p>Here's the clip, via NBC:</p>
<p></p>
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Tavis Smiley Blasts Obama Over Trayvon Martin Speech: 'Weak As Pre-Sweetened Kool-Aid'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Herbert "Bertie" Bowman was the longest-serving African-American staffer on Capitol Hill in US history.</li><li>He died on October 25 after a nearly 60-year career in the Senate.</li></ul><p>Bertie Bowman, the longest-serving African-American staffer on Capitol Hill in history, died at 92 years old on Wednesday morning.</p><p>Andrew Desiderio, a reporter for Punchbowl News, first <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/1717186892687458334">reported</a> that Bowman's death was announced by Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the committee confirmed the news.</p><p>Herbert "Bertie" Bowman was born in Summerton, a small town in South Carolina, in 1931. Like many families during the Great Depression, the Bowmans struggled financially. Bowman recalled in his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/16715/step-by-step-by-bertie-bowman/">memoir</a> "Step by Step" that "the wind would whistle through the wooden boards of the house" in the winter.</p><p>The 14 Bowman children worked on their family's farm, waking up before dawn every day to complete morning chores before walking three miles to school. "The white children, in buses, passed us on the road to their well-equipped classrooms and modern textbooks," Bowman wrote.</p><h2>A chance encounter with a senator</h2><p>Bowman dreamed of escaping the grueling life on the farm and his father's rule of law. He saw a glimmer of possibility in 1944 when he met a senator from South Carolina, Burnet Maybank, who invited crowds gathered at a local store to "drop by" and see him if they were ever in Washington, DC.</p><p>Then-13-year-old Bowman approached Maybank as the senator was about to get into his car and asked if he was also invited to visit his office.</p><p>"The senator leaned over and replied graciously, 'Certainly, my boy,'" Bowman recalled.</p><p>The idea of leaving Summerton and "going up the road" became Bowman's obsession, and he began to plan his exit.</p><div type="image" title="Former Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., left, hugs Bertie Bowman, a staffer with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, before a subcommittee hearing in Dirksen Building entitled &quot;The Peace Corps, The Next Fifty Years.&quot;" height="2340" width="3518" msid="104708263" hostid="261" sizebytes="213734"></div><h2><strong>From janitor to congressional staffer</strong></h2><p>Several nights later, Bowman crept out of the house with one sack of flour and his meager savings pinned to his shirt, and boarded a train to Washington. He was immediately entranced by the nation's capitol.</p><p>"When I got to the Union Station, man, I thought that Union Station was Washington. All those lights. I'd never seen that many lights before," Bowman told talkshow host Tavis Smiley in 2008.</p><p>Bowman managed to track down Maybank, who helped him secure a place to stay and a job sweeping the Capitol steps for $2 a week.</p><p>Bowman swiftly established himself as a jack-of-all-trades and eventually became a janitor for the Capitol. During that time, he formed relationships with influential members of the government, including future President Lyndon Johnson.</p><p>Bowman's close relationships with white politicians — even those who had publicly supported segregation — became an unusual aspect of his career. Bowman <a target="_blank" href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/people/2021/09/a-legend-in-the-senate-he-may-be-the-longest-serving-federal-employee/">called</a> Strom Thurmond a good friend, and repeatedly drew distinctions between the personality and the public positions taken by the former governor of South Carolina who was known to be a staunch segregationist.</p><div type="image" title="Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), right, hugs Bertie Bowman, Hearing Coordinator after testifying at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for Secretary of State in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill January 24, 2013 in Washington D.C. President Barack Obama nominated Kerry to succeed Hillary Clinton" height="1997" width="3000" msid="104708264" hostid="261" sizebytes="394976"></div><p>Bowman was also friendly with Sen. Jesse <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2008/07/04/92241277/remembering-sen-jesse-helms#:~:text=Transcript-,Jesse%20Helms'%2030%2Dyear%20career%20in%20the%20U.S.%20Senate%20was,at%20the%20age%20of%2086.">Helms</a> of North Carolina, and Sen. J. William <a target="_blank" href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-02-10-mn-30368-story.html">Fulbright</a> of Arkansas, both of whom also supported segregation.</p><p>"We never did discuss things like that," Bowman <a target="_blank" href="https://rollcall.com/2013/07/05/bertie-bowmans-long-senate-journey/">told</a> Roll Call in 2013. "They were my friends."</p><p>In 1965, Bowman became a clerk for the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, where he worked on some of the nation's most monumental issues, like the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tet-offensive-vietnam-war-photos-what-happened-2018-1">Vietnam War</a> and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-controversial-presidential-pardons-commutations-in-us-history-2023-4">Watergate scandal</a>.</p><p>During this time, he also supervised a young Bill Clinton, who, at the age of 21, served as a messenger for the committee. In a 2008 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonian.com/2008/05/01/bill-and-me/">essay</a> for the Washingtonian, Bowman wrote about how the two of them bonded over their shared love of Elvis.</p><p>Years later, former President Clinton penned the foreword to Bowman's memoir, writing, "Bertie's life is a testament to the power and promise of the American Dream."</p><div type="image" title="Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer Bertie Bowman (R) talks with Secretary of State John Kerry before he testifies about a congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force against the Islamic State, the violent jihadist group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq, before a hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill December 9, 2014 in Washington, DC." height="2000" width="3000" msid="104708265" hostid="261" sizebytes="160722"></div><h2>A lifetime of service at the Capitol</h2><p>By the time Bowman retired in 1990, he had risen the ranks to become the Foreign Relations Committee's assistant hearing coordinator — a significant role that handled logistics for all of the committee's meetings throughout the year.</p><p>Although he'd retired, Bowman continued to serve as a consultant for the committee for the next decade.</p><div type="image" title="Escorted by committee staff Bertie Bowman (2nd R), U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) arrives at a hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee March 2, 2011 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Sec. Clinton testified on &quot;National Security &amp; Foreign Policy Priorities in the FY2012 International Affairs Budget.&quot;" height="2151" width="3000" msid="104708266" hostid="261" sizebytes="397112"></div><p>In 1999, Sen. Helms, who had just become chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, sought Bowman out to come out of retirement and serve as his hearing coordinator.</p><p>Bowman had continued to work in the Capitol until his death, becoming the longest-serving African-American congressional staffer in US history.</p><p>"For 57 years — 57 years! — if you served on or appeared in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, you knew the big smile, the booming laugh, and the bear hug of Bertie Bowman," John Kerry <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/JohnKerry/status/1717267718913630276">wrote</a> in a tweet on Wednesday. "His title may have been 'hearing coordinator' but it could've just as easily been 'heart and soul.'"</p><p>"Bertie was an institution — an inspiration of a man who started in the Senate sweeping floors at 13 and made the place both his career and his home — but more than that, he was a great human and I'll miss him," Kerry said.</p>

Bertie Bowman ran away from home at 13 to sweep the steps of Capitol Hill. He died at 92 as the the longest-serving African-American Congressional staffer.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Isaiah Washington said on Facebook that some of his "best elementary school teachers" were members of the KKK.</li><li>He also said his "neighbors" in Texas were too, and that he'd play with their children. </li></ul><p>Former <a href="https://www.insider.com/greys-anatomy-couples-ranked-by-chemistry-merder-japril-calzona-photos-2022-6">"Grey's Anatomy</a>" star Isaiah Washington said in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/1131289208/posts/i-had-some-of-the-best-elementary-school-teachers-and-even-some-neighbors-that-i/10228008623977530/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post on his official Facebook page</a> that some of the "best elementary school teachers" and "neighbors" he grew up with in Houston, Texas, were members of the white supremacist group <a href="https://www.insider.com/kkk-lures-new-members-with-candy-2018-8">the Ku Klux Klan</a>. </p><p>In the post, shared on Sunday, the actor recalled playing with their kids, though he said clear "boundaries" were set on both sides. For example, Washington said he couldn't drink from those KKK members' outdoor water hoses or come into their homes to eat. Washington's mother, however, would let kids of <a href="https://www.insider.com/black-teen-tased-by-group-dressed-in-kkk-costumes-attorney-2021-11">KKK members</a> eat inside her house and  "drink from our vintage JFK water glasses."</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/p-valley-star-brandee-evans-sex-scene-coach-wife-farrah-2022-7">The "P-Valley" star</a> went on to say that he wondered if some of the children he played with were "vigorously" supporting his acting career today because he showed them "love and respect as a true Texan and a true American," even when their parents refused to let the children do the same for him in public. </p><p>Insider has reached out to Washington for comment. </p><div type="image" title="Isaiah Washington" height="1247" width="1663" msid="99917969" hostid="261"></div><p>Washington played Dr. Preston Burke on "Grey's Anatomy" from 2005 to 2007 before he was fired from the show for referring to his costar T.R Knight, <a href="https://people.com/celebrity/exclusive-greys-anatomy-star-t-r-knight-confirms-hes-gay/">who later came out as gay</a>, with a homophobic slur during a physical altercation on set. </p><p>Since being fired from the show, Washington has made several claims about the hit series and his co-stars. </p><p>According to Lynette Rice's book, <a href="https://www.insider.com/tr-knight-family-isaiah-washington-homophobic-slur-2021-10">"How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy,"</a> Washington had originally been considered for the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd opposite Ellen Pompeo's Dr. Meredith Grey, <a href="https://www.insider.com/isaiah-washington-ellen-pompeo-uncomfortable-mcdreamy-casting-greys-anatomy-2021-9">but said Pompeo felt "uncomfortable"</a> with having him as a love interest because her then-boyfriend (now husband) Chris Ivery was also a Black man.</p><p>As Pompeo explained to the New York Post in 2013, "You know they wanted Isaiah Washington to be my boyfriend. Shonda really wanted to put a Black man in the mix. I didn't think they were really going to put an interracial couple on the show and I didn't want him. It was too close to home."</p><div type="image" title="t.r. knight/isaiah washington" height="600" width="800" msid="99917970" hostid="261"></div><p>In <a href="https://www.insider.com/greys-anatomy-isaiah-washington-ellen-pompeo-patrick-dempsey-allegations-2021-10">an October 2021 appearance on "The Tavis Smiley Show,"</a> Washington called Patrick Dempsey a "total tyrant" and claimed that Pompeo accepted "$5 million dollars under the table" to keep quiet about Dempsey's "toxic and nasty" behavior on set. </p><p>In 2022, he also spoke out about his "Romeo Must Die" co-star, the late singer Aaliyah. In an interview with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBKp3jpuFkE">Vlad TV</a>,  Washington said that the pop star, who married R. Kelly when she was 15 and Kelly was 27, was "in control of the situation even at her age."</p><p>"She was 15 going on 30, so she was in control of that whole situation," he said. "I don't judge her, but she was very smart and very mature and very in control of her situation. I don't believe one minute that Aaliyah was made to do anything that Aaliyah didn't want to do."</p><p>Washington announced his <a href="https://twitter.com/IWashington/status/1630696635587231744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1630696635587231744%7Ctwgr%5Ef741aa2bcefd9ae8a35d3526422d0d81b876d957%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insider.com%2Fisaiah-washington-launches-gofundme-for-movie-after-announcing-acting-retirement-2023-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intention to retire from acting</a> in early 2023, only to <a href="https://www.insider.com/isaiah-washington-launches-gofundme-for-movie-after-announcing-acting-retirement-2023-3">launch a GoFundMe page</a> to try and crowdfund a million-dollar movie project days later. </p>

Former 'Grey's Anatomy' star Isaiah Washington said he grew up with members of the KKK: 'I showed them love and respect'

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12198335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="isaiah-washington" source="Orion">Isaiah Washington</keyword> spoke about his former "<keyword id="11995413" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="greys-anatomy" source="Orion">Grey's Anatomy</keyword>" costars on "The Tavis Smiley Show."</li><li>Washington called <keyword id="12118719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="patrick-dempsey" source="Orion">Patrick Dempsey</keyword>, who played McDreamy on the medical drama, "a total tyrant."</li></ul><p>Isaiah Washington said the <a href="https://www.insider.com/greys-anatomy-ellen-pompeo-cut-shonda-rhimes-off-while-speaking-racism-2021-9">"Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo</a> accepted "$5 million dollars under the table" to keep quiet and "not tell the world how toxic and nasty Patrick Dempsey really was" on set.</p><p>During an interview on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/2h9XBpDRTTkE30UqJoS2Q5">Tavis Smiley's radio show on October 21,</a> Washington said Dempsey "was not a nice guy from day one." He also referred to Dempsey as "a total tyrant" who had a reputation for being "pilot poison," meaning an actor who represents a liability to getting a show picked up for a series.</p><p>Washington said <a href="https://www.insider.com/ellen-pompeo-fought-denzel-washington-greys-anatomy-set-2021-9">Pompeo took "hush money"</a> from unnamed parties around the time that the #MeToo movement was first making headlines before she signed a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/ellen-pompeo-tvs-20-million-woman-reveals-her-behind-scenes-fight-what-i-deserve-1074978/">$20 million contract to continue on "Grey's Anatomy"</a> and become the highest-paid woman on television.</p><div type="image" title="Patrick Dempsey Isaiah Washington" height="1538" width="2051" msid="87375769" hostid="261"></div><p>The #MeToo hashtag went viral in 2017, largely inspired by reports about the now convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html">The New York Times</a> and <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories">The New Yorker</a>. Many women in Hollywood made sexual-abuse allegations and described gender-specific disparities.</p><p>Pompeo signed her $20 million contract with ABC "in late 2017," according to her <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/ellen-pompeo-tvs-20-million-woman-reveals-her-behind-scenes-fight-what-i-deserve-1074978/">January 2018 interview with The Hollywood Reporter</a>.</p><p>"And you want to run around here like you are the keeper of all feminine women and the feminist movement," Washington said, referring to Pompeo.</p><p>The "P-Valley" actor said he never felt supported on the set of the medical drama because he "was never wanted there."</p><p>"Every single day, I was a problem that was being reminded, 'You're No. 4 on the call sheet,'" he said.</p><div type="image" title="Ellen Pompeo" height="1351" width="1802" msid="87375770" hostid="261"></div><p>Washington said that around the time he exited "Grey's Anatomy," his own behavior on set was being used to cover up Dempsey's. </p><p>Washington was at the center of one of the first controversies on the set of ABC's long-running medical drama when multiple <a href="https://www.insider.com/tr-knight-family-isaiah-washington-homophobic-slur-2021-10">witnesses</a> said he used a homophobic slur to refer to his costar <keyword id="12020200" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="t-r-knight" source="Orion">T.R. Knight</keyword> during a fight with Dempsey. Washington issued an apology for his actions to <a href="https://people.com/celebrity/exclusive-isaiah-washington-apologizes/">People in 2006</a> and was fired from the show the following year.</p><p>Reps for Pompeo and Dempsey didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.</p><h2>Dempsey's behavior on set was not 'McDreamy,' a former 'Grey's' executive producer says</h2><p>In "How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey's Anatomy," a recently released tell-all book about the medical drama by <keyword id="11896019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="entertainment" source="Orion">Entertainment</keyword> Weekly Editor at Large Lynette Rice, the former "Grey's" executive producer James D. Parriott makes similar <a href="https://www.insider.com/patrick-dempsey-terrorizing-set-before-greys-anatomy-exit-report-2021-9">comments about Dempsey's behavior</a>, saying the actor was often "terrorizing the set." </p><p>"Some cast members had all sorts of PTSD with him," Parriott adds. "He had this hold on the set where he knew he could stop production and scare people."</p><p>Dempsey has never directly commented about any allegations regarding his behavior on set. In <a href="https://ew.com/article/2015/04/24/read-patrick-dempseys-final-exit-interview-greys-anatomy/">his 2015 "Grey's Anatomy" exit interview</a> with Rice, he said leaving the show "unfolded in a very organic way" but added that "it happened very quickly."</p><div type="image" title="Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey in a scene from &quot;Grey's Anatomy&quot;" height="1983" width="2645" msid="87375772" hostid="261"></div><p>In November 2014, Dempsey went on a "hiatus" from the show for six episodes for reasons he didn't explain to Rice.</p><p>"They tried to keep it secret as best they could," he said. </p><p>Dempsey did say his erratic hours were hard on his family.</p><p>"It's 10 months, 15 hours a day. You never know your schedule, so your kid asks you, 'What are you doing  on Monday?' and you go, 'I don't know,' because I don't know my schedule,'" he said. "Doing that for 11 years is challenging."</p><p>He added: "What I would like to do is focus on not being spread so thin."</p><p>The next episode of "Grey's Anatomy" airs November 11 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.</p>

'Grey's Anatomy' star Isaiah Washington said Ellen Pompeo was secretly paid $5 million 'to not tell the world how toxic and nasty Patrick Dempsey really was'

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Chris Rock is the latest comedian to weigh in on the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-women-who-have-accused-bill-cosby-of-rape-2014-11" target="_blank">Bill Cosby scandal</a>.</p>
<p>Despite Rock <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/chris-rock-frank-rich-in-conversation.html?mid=facebook_nymag" target="_blank">telling Vulture</a> that Cosby was initially "disdainful" of the younger comedian in his early days, the older comic "<span>turned pretty quick" and the two had a good relationship.</span></p>
<p><strong>In the wake of recent <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-women-who-have-accused-bill-cosby-of-rape-2014-11" target="_blank">sexual assault accusations</a> against Cosby, Rock tells <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/chris-rock-frank-rich-in-conversation.html?mid=facebook_nymag" target="_blank">Vulture</a>:</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">I don't know what to say. What do you say? I hope it's not true. That's all you can say. I really do. I grew up on Cosby. I love Cosby, and I just hope it's not true. It's a weird year for comedy. We lost Robin, we lost Joan, and we kind of lost Cosby.</span></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Rock says suicide is common among comedians:</strong></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Comedians kill themselves. Talk to 100 comedians this week, everybody knows somebody who killed themselves. I mean, we always say ignorance is bliss. Well, if so, what's the opposite? Some form of misery. Being a comedian, 80% of the job is just you notice shit, which is a trait of schizophrenics too. You notice things people don't notice.</span></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>He credits his children for being able to stay a happy comedian:</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">You try to give yourself other things to focus on. I always say, my children saved me from my miserable self.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Rock was a huge fan of Joan Rivers, who was still performing stand up until she <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/joan-rivers-dead-81-2014-9" target="_blank">died in September</a> at age 81:</strong></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Great person, underrated comedian. Who the hell's funnier than Joan Rivers? That whole reference thing: Joan updated constantly.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The compliment you give of a comedian is: Who wants to follow them onstage? Nobody wanted to follow Joan Rivers, ever. Even in her 80s, nobody wanted to follow her.</span></p>
<p><strong>Rock also had a lot to say about other living comedians.</strong></p>
<p><strong>He says conservative comedian Dennis Miller, who Rock starred alongside on "Saturday Night Live," is "less funny":</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">He used to bust my balls. He'd come into my office and say, "Hey, Rock, how's that </span><span class="footnoteLink" style="line-height: 1.5em;">'next Eddie'<span class="footnoteNumber">7</span><span class="footnote"></span></span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> thing working out?" </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Oh, he's definitely less funny. You know where he's going. Smart as hell, but you know where he's going. The middle's where it's at, comically. I mean, what do you got? Miller, Stewart, Maher.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div><br /></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But Rock <em>is</em> a fan of Roseanne Barr:</span></strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>She's just funnier than everybody.</span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As well as <a href="http://www.tavistalks.com/" target="_blank">Tavis Smiley</a> and <a href="http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/m77ip1/cornel-west" target="_blank">Cornel West</a>:</span></strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span><span><span>They're both intelligent, sincere guys.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Rock says he relates to Jerry Seinfeld:</span></strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><span>He bores easily. I bore easily. Not because I'm <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jerry-seinfeld-thinks-hes-on-the-autism-spectrum-2014-11" target="_blank">on some spectrum</a>, but because I hear so many conversations again and again. So many people come up to you, and not enough people try to take into account what you've heard already.</span></span></p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>And compares his new movie <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2784678/" target="_blank"><em>Top Five</em></a>'s style to Woody Allen films:</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span>I don't even think Woody does comedy. I think he does dramas with jokes. They're all sad at their core.</span></p>
<p><strong>Rock even admitted he did steal one thing from Woody Allen:</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">I've checked into hotels under Alvy Singer," he says, in reference to the name of Allen's character in 1977's Oscar-winning "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075686/" target="_blank">Annie Hall</a>."</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p><strong>Read Rock's full interview with Vulture <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2014/11/chris-rock-frank-rich-in-conversation.html?mid=facebook_nymag" target="_blank">here.</a></strong></p>

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