Chris Rock Says He Refused to Pay for a Lawyer for His Wrongfully Accused Friend’s Brother: ‘I Had the Means to Help Him and I Didn’t’

Chris Rock opened up about a personal experience in his life denying his friend's brother, Roger Logan, a lawyer after he was wrongfully accused of murder

The comedian said his decision "still f---s with me"

Rock is currently promoting Misty Green , his new directorial project in theaters Oct. 9

Chris Rock got candid in a new interview about a hard decision he made in his personal life.

The actor, 61, joined The New York Times ' The Interview series where he opened up about his new movie, Misty Green , and weighed in on the subject of progressiveness and its impact on celebrities. When asked about who deserves forgiveness and why, in the context of what Rock describes as "canceled all-stars," he shared an anecdote from his own life.

"Hey, man, I'm Black. When you're Black, white people believe every accusation is a conviction," he began.

Rock went on to give an example of someone he knew who was wrongfully accused.

"A guy named Roger Logan , who I grew up with and was one of my best friends' brothers, went to jail for 19 years for a murder he didn't commit," Rock said. "And here's the weird thing: His brother used to plead with me to pay for a lawyer for Roger, and I never did it. I always had a no-lawyer thing."

Rock said that he had no issue paying for people's mortgage or education, but when it came to lawyers, he took a step back because "it's so open-ended."

Per the NYT , Logan eventually reached a $3.75 million settlement with New York City over his wrongful conviction and settled with New York State for $2.975 million.

"And it still f---s with me. I had the means to help him, and I didn't," he admitted. "I don't know if we could've got him out or not, but still. So all that to say, I'm Black, Black men get accused of s--- they didn't do all the time, every day. We let Black men out of jail and go: 'Whoops! That Black guy just did 30 years — too bad.' "

"So to answer your question, hopefully I don't get accused of anything, but it's real when people get accused of things, and you better be real sure they did it," Rock concluded.

The actor added that he himself was in a police lineup "two, three times."

"In Bed-Stuy, and you're minding your business and you get swooped up. And now you're in a police lineup," he explained of his experience in the neighborhood growing up. "And you've seen enough cop movies to know that behind that window is a person — could be a man, but probably a woman — and if she points at you, your whole life's over."

Rock is currently promoting his latest directorial project, Misty Green , which stars Rosalind Eleazar as the titular character who is fighting to reclaim her career years after her Hollywood breakthrough.

The film first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 12 before making its debut at the New York Film Festival two weeks later.

Rock previously opened up to PEOPLE about working with his younger daughter, Zahra , 22, on the movie, in which she has a small role.

" It was fun to direct her ," Rock told PEOPLE at TIFF, adding that it made him think back to days he spent alongside his own father: "I used to work with my dad a lot. My dad drove a truck...but occasionally I would have to watch somebody tell my dad what to do, and that kind of stuck with me. So it was nice for my daughter to come in this atmosphere where her dad's the boss."

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Misty Green releases in limited theaters Oct. 9.