Chris Rock's Bring the Pain televison special on HBO is considered one of the best recorded stand-up performances of all time, and now A&E has enlisted a handful of notable figures to discuss the special's impact — including Rock himself.
As a part of its Cultureshock documentary series, A&E is focusing on Bring the Pain. In a teaser trailer for the documentary, Oprah Winfrey, Ava DuVernay, Aziz Ansari, Wanda Sykes, Charlamagne tha God, Trevor Noah and others offered their thoughts about the seminal special. But the more standout moments from it are when Rock looks back on it.
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"It was way bigger than anything I'd ever imagined," Rock said. "I can't believe they let me do Bring the Pain."
"The bar was raised for comedy as a whole," Sykes said. "It just wrecked some comics — I think some comics just quit."
"I don't want to live in a world where President Obama is worried about his Rotten Tomatoes score," Rock said. "I want him above that at all times. Make your money, but I don't want [him] to be involved with that." When pressed further about the topic the comedian then added: "I'd just send them over to Donald Glover. That's what I'd do."
