Chris Rock Talks Revealing His Learning Disorder With Howard Stern

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Chris Rock is one of the most beloved comedians of our lifetime and he’s still putting in work to this day.

Recently, Rock opened up about his non-verbal learning disorder and many were asking what lead to this disclosure at such a late point in his career. The disorder has had a major effect on his visual-spatial, motor, and social skills. NVLD causes problems with other kinds of learning, including concepts and relationships. Previously, Chris said he underwent nine hours of cognitive testing to confirm the diagnosis.

The actor and comedian dropped by The Howard Stern Show to open about the situation and his reason was pretty clear. He opened up, stating publicly that telling the world is the easiest way to say sorry to a lot of people who deserve it. This makes sense because on a journey like his, some people may have not understood the disconnect–but hearing this may put some things in perspective for them.

This led to Chris talking about the trauma he experienced in his youth, which stemmed from racism at his predominantly-white school. The comedian admits he was bullied and sexually assaulted and never dealt with the trauma from either of those situations. He even reveals that he ended up bumping into one of his old bullies on the set of a film he was directing. His former bully was working security for the set and met Chris with a look of shame on his face. Rock went on to admit that it was the best revenge for the bully to have to watch him in his bag and be so close to him, yet so far away.

Watch the amazing segment for yourself down below:

Despite it all, Rock still has a great sense of humor towards life. The actor who stars in FX’s series Fargo is also gearing up to host the 46th season premiere of SNL this Saturday. This will be his fourth time hosting the iconic improv show.