Mike Epps isn’t dodging the truth when it comes to Chris Rock, but he’s just calling it exactly what it is.

While appearing as a guest on “Club Shay Shay,” “The Upshaws” star sat with Shannon Sharpe and unpacked the long-standing distance between himself and Rock. 

The moment Sharpe brought up an old Def Jam Comedy memory, Epps didn’t soften his stance.

“You think he ended Shuckey Duckey?” the host asked.
The stand-up comedian responded, standing firm and claiming that he did, messing up the “little career that he had.” 

The 55-year-old is referring to a joke that the “Everybody Hates Chris” creator made while performing on Def Jam,  joking that “Shuckey Duckey needs some jokey wokeys.”

That memory naturally led Epps to reflect on Rock’s polarizing presence over the years, including the 2022 Oscars slap. 

Without endorsing violence, Epps admitted he understood the emotion behind it.

“That’s why Will Smith popped him upside his head,” the “Next Friday” star said. 

“I ain’t condoning it but I get how a n*gga could reach that point.”

Epps then shared a personal moment that stuck with him early in his career, recalling a comment Rock once made that didn’t sit right.

“He walked up to me and said, ‘You can’t act rich if you ain’t rich,’” Epps recalled, sharing how he was confused. 

Epps said he understood the point Rock was trying to make in how he wasn’t rich yet,  but felt the comment missed the bigger picture. 

In his mind, Rock wasn’t seeing him, just making an assumption.

“What he didn’t understand was I came from a drug-dealer world,” the 55-year-old explained. 

“I always liked a little diamonds. He thought I was trying to make it look like I had show-business money. Nah. I was rich in other ways.”

When Sharpe asked if Epps had ever tried to clear the air with Rock, the answer was straightforward: there had never really been a relationship to repair.

“I don’t really have a relationship with him,” Epps said. 

“I don’t think he gets me, and I don’t get him.”

Still, the “Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins” actor was clear about one thing: that personal disconnect doesn’t cancel professional respect.

“Do I think he’s funny?” he said. “Absolutely. Funny as hell. I just don’t know him like that  and he don’t know me.”

Watch the episode below.