Chris Rock has said Jennifer Lawrence would have even more of a pay gap to complain about if she was a black actress.
'Black women have the hardest gig in show business,' the comedian told The New Yorker for a profile on Saturday Night Live star Leslie Jones.
'You hear Jennifer Lawrence complaining about getting paid less because she's a woman - if she was black, she'd really have something to complain about,' the comedian said.
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Pay gap: Comedian Chris Rock has said Jennifer Lawrence 'would really have something to complain about' if she was a black woman working in show business
The Top Ten actor made the comments as he discussed Leslie's struggle to get her 'big break', and the lack of opportunities for African-American women in entertainment.
Jennifer, 25, has been a vocal critic of the pay gap for women in Hollywood, after discovering via the Sony hack that she and costar Amy Adams were paid less than their male costars Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Christian Bale in American Hustle.
Penning an essay in Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter, Jennifer wrote that she was disappointed in herself for not pushing for higher pay out of fear it would make her seem 'unlikable.'
Speaking out: The Oscar-winner, seen on The Graham Norton show this month, has become a vocal critic of the pay gap in Hollywood, after discovering she made less than her male costars in America Hustle.
'I'm over trying to find the 'adorable' way to state my opinion and still be likable. F*** that,' the Oscar-winner wrote in an essay entitled 'Why Do I Make Less Than My Male Costars?'
'I don't think I've ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard. It's just heard,' The Hunger Games star wrote.
Jennifer was also named the highest-paid actress by Forbes magazine, earning an estimated $52 million in the past year.
Chris, 50, made the comments while discussing the rise of comedian Leslie, 48, who was hired by SNL last year as a writer, before quickly becoming an on-air performer and cast standout.
Comedy vet: Chris made the comments while discussing comedian Leslie Jones, who struggled to get her 'big break' before finally being cast on SNL last year
And her star is set to rise further next year, when the Memphis-born comedian appears in the highly-anticipated Ghostbusters reboot.
But before being cast on SNL, Leslie performed on the road for 25 years and struggled to get her 'big break'. She filmed her own comedy specials, but grew frustrated at being pigeonholed as a 'black comic.'
Chris told the magazine he had been talking up Leslie's talent for years, but no one would listen.
Standout: Leslie with Chris Hemsworth on the set of SNL on December 8
Chris also cast Leslie in his film Top Five, which he also wrote and directed last year.
The comedy legend told The New Yorker he finally convinced SNL boss Lorne Michaels to give her a shot when the show began looking for African-American women cast members amid an outcry over the show's lack of diversity.
The Grown Ups star told Lorne: 'You should look at Leslie Jones. She's the funniest woman I know.'
After impressing in her audition, Leslie was hired as a SNL writer at the age of 47, before quickly being promoted to on-air performer and becoming an audience favorite.
Ain't afraid: Leslie will star with Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon and Kristen Wiig in the new Ghostbusters film next year
'I mentioned her to several managers and agents over the years,' Chris told The New Yorker.
'Everybody passed. Lorne, because he's the best at what he does, is the one who saw it. I don't think he'd hired a cast member her age in a long time.'
Leslie will also star in the Ghostbusters reboot, with Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy and her fellow SNL cast member Kate McKinnon.
The film is set for release in the US on July 15, 2016.
Big break: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie and Kate McKinnon during a break in filming the Ghostbusters reboot in New York in September
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