Chris Rock has given fans a glimpse into his parenting style.
In his Netflix stand-up special, Selective Outrage, the 58-year-old comedian discussed being a father to his two daughters – Lola Simone, 20, and Zahra Savannah, 18 – whom he shares with ex-wife Malaack Compton-Rock.
During the comedy special, which debuted on Netflix on 4 March, Rock detailed the lengths he goes to make sure his daughters aren’t spoiled. He recalled one moment when his eldest daughter, Lola, was on a high school class trip to Portugal when she was caught sneaking out and drinking.
“Of course, they got busted. Rich, white schools, they don’t play that s***,” he said.
The Grown Ups star explained that their parents decided to hire lawyers in order to keep their daughters in school, but Rock wanted his child to learn that her actions have consequences. “These crazy white schools got rich a** white parents and rich a** white parents do not let their kids get kicked out of school,” he said in the special. “So all the parents, they all got lawyers, even the ones that were lawyers got lawyers. Good lawyers.”
However, Rock soon realised that Lola didn’t seem to be taking the situation seriously.
“So, I come home from work and I see Lola outside just laughing with three of her little white girlfriends,” he recalled. “Lola is like, ‘Daddy, stop it. You’re so serious! I’ll be back in school in no time.”
The Saturday Night Live alum decided to take matters into his own hands and asked the dean of his daughter’s school to kick her out.
“I need you to kick my daughter out of this school. I need you to kick her Black a** out of this school,” he recalled telling the dean. “I need my Black child to learn her lesson right now before she is up on OnlyFans and some s***.”
“Please kick my child out,” he said.
Although both Lola and her friends were kicked out of the school, he added that things eventually turned out well for his daughter, who is now in culinary school.
Rock has previously spoken about being a proud dad to his two daughters. In 2017, he shared a heartfelt tribute to his girls on Instagram while he was missing his family out on the road.
“Lola got a great report card today. And Zahra got an A on her math test. I’m on tour Missing my babies Dallas tonight,” he captioned the throwback photo of himself with his daughters.
After Lola graduated from high school, her mother Malaack Compton-Rock posted a sweet update about her eldest daughter to Instagram.
“My first born child Lola Simone has graduated from high school and turned 18! I cannot believe we have reached these milestones! But I could not be prouder of the young woman she has become and am excited for her to begin university in Europe,” she captioned the slideshow, which featured several photos of the family of four. “Food and travel is her love language and she sees life through the lens of communicating through food, culture and community. I am so excited to parent her through this next phase of life. She is an extraordinary human being and I love her so!”
In honour of her 18th birthday, Rock and Lola celebrated the milestone by getting their first-ever matching tattoos. “First tattoo for King @chrisrock and his wonderful daughter,” wrote New York City-based tattoo shop Bang Bang Tattoo on Instagram. The pair got matching Jean Micheal Basquiat tattoos: Rock with the famous artist’s signature crown on his right shoulder, and Lola with a dinosaur wearing a Basquiat crown.
Rock previously joked about his youngest daughter, Zahra Savannah, at the 2016 Oscars. During the ceremony, the then-Oscars host tried to get the celebrity guests in attendance to purchase Girl Scout cookies from his daughter.
“Last night Zahra, my youngest called me up and said, ‘Daddy how come we never sell the most cookies? How come Mrs. Dunn wins every year?’ It would mean so much to my little girl if we could beat Linda Dunn,” he told the crowd.
“I want you to reach into your millionaire pockets and I want you to buy some of my daughter’s girl scout cookies,” he joked. “Are we going to deny my princesses from cookies? Alright, Tina Fey, get that money, girl. Charlize Theron, yes. Matt Damon, yes. Leo, you made $30 million – come on!”
These days, his 18-year-old daughter is a student at the University of Southern California.
Rock and his ex-wife, Malaack Compton-Rock, were married for 18 years before separating in 2014. Their divorce was finalised two years later.
