Jimmy Fallon lost it when Chris Rock recalled getting 'uncle-zoned' by Rihanna: “She looked...”
In April 2018, Chris Rock, along with Adam Sandler, made an appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'. In the interview, Fallon shared how thrilled he was to attend Rock’s performance at Madison Square Garden. "It was an unbelievable show! It was really well done, there were so many jokes... every single thing was good," he said. Then, recounting one of the incidents, he asked, "I don’t know if you wanna tell anyone the Rihanna story?" Rock, clearly caught off guard, chuckled. "Oh, the Rihanna story? Ah… wh-what about me trying to talk to Rihanna?" Fallon confirmed, "Yes!" Referring to his post-divorce single phase after Rock admitted, "I thought, ‘Hey, I’m single now. Let me give it a go.’" For the unversed, Rock, at the time, was divorced after his 20-year marriage with Malaak Compton, Per Essence.
"You ever not realize how old you are?" Rock asked, struggling to contain his laughter. "Like, I couldn’t tell how old I was!" He then praised Rihanna and said, "Rihanna's so fine if she didn’t sing, her life would be the same. She’d have clothing lines. People would be asking for autographs." Fallon promptly responded, "It must be cool to have Chris Rock come up and be like, ‘Hey, how you doing?’" Rock laughed and set the record straight. "Oh, that didn’t register at all!" He then recalled the exact moment Rihanna dismissed him, "She looked at me and said, ‘Have you seen Ray J?’ I was like, ‘Who Ray J?’ Like, ‘F**k Ray J!’"
Rock, humorously, said. "She looked at me like I was one of her aunts. Like, she didn’t even register me as a sexual being." This statement erupted laughter from everyone on the set; however, after this followed another punchline that sent Fallon and the audience into hysterics. Rock said, "When a girl says she doesn’t want to have sex with you, at least she’s contemplated sex with you… " "And you'll take that," Fallon quipped. Rock, still in disbelief, added, "You know what I mean, like she contemplated sex with you and went ‘Ughhhhhh.’ But I was like… in the uncle zone!" This made Sandler and Fallon burst out in laughter.
Fans on YouTube wasted no time reacting to Rock’s hilarious misfire. Many pointed out the glaring 23-year age gap between Rock and Rihanna. One user quipped, "Yeah, she is 25 years younger—he may be older than her mother..." Another joked, "I don’t think Rihanna wants another Chris in her life." Others were too busy enjoying Rock and Sandler’s effortless comedic chemistry. "Adam Sandler is so chill and relaxed… is it weird I still find him very attractive?" one comment read. Another fan noted, "Chris Rock just steals the show no matter where he is." Some couldn’t help but comment on Sandler’s rare dressed-up look for the talk show. "This is the most dressed up I’ve ever seen Sandler. He’s a national treasure!"
Following his infamous Rihanna rejection, Rock has been the subject of dating rumors—particularly with Amber Rose. Per Yahoo, in 2023, the speculation began after Rock was spotted strolling through New York City with Rose. However, the model quickly shut down the rumors in an interview with ET. "I’ve been friends with Chris Rock for, like, 13 years… We met for coffee. We talked some crap to each other. He made me laugh because he’s hilarious. And that’s our friendship. Just friendship," Rose clarified.