Chris Rock Weighs In On Jennifer Lawrence’s Wage Gap Comments; ‘Black Women Have The Hardest Gig In Show Business’

Chris Rock has been known to tell it like it is, and now he's using his voice to speak out for black actresses. The comedian recently responded to comments Jennifer Lawrence made about being paid less as a female actor than her male counterparts. Rock, 50, claims it could be much worse for the "Hunger Games" star and other white women in Hollywood — they could be getting stiffed like black actresses and comedians are.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the quote appeared in The New Yorker's profile on "SNL" funny woman Leslie Jones, which will be included in the Jan. 4 issue of the publication. In the article, which focuses on Jones' struggle for notoriety, Rock, who is black, suggests that Lawrence's complaints aren't warranted. He assures readers, and the actress herself, that black women in the entertainment business "have the hardest gig." Rock goes on to say that if Lawrence, 25, were black, she would know struggle.

"Black women have the hardest gig in show business. You hear Jennifer Lawrence complaining about getting paid less because she's a women," he said. "If she was black, she'd really have something to complain about."

Lawrence's comments appeared in fellow white, female actress Lena Dunham's newsletter, Lenny Letter. In a lengthy essay Lawrence opened up about being paid less than the males she starred alongside in "American Hustle." Her comments inspired other A-listers — both male and female — to speak out about the wage gap issue. As People magazine reported, Bradley Cooper famously defended his "Silver Linings Playbook" co-star, acknowledging the "double standard in the whole world." He went on to commend Lawrence and actress Sienna Miller for speaking out about the injustice.