NEW YORK – CBS Corp. chief executive Leslie Moonves is the most powerful executive in television, but he's still involved in some of the smallest programming decisions.
Chris Rock said it was Moonves who picked the young actor who portrays the comic as a boy in the UPN sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris," vetoing the person who had been first choice.
"Les said, `I know how to pick black kids,"' the 41-year-old actor-comedian said. "He's picking them for Angelina Jolie now."
Rock spoke at Thursday's sales presentation to advertisers by the new CW network, where "Everybody Hates Chris" will air on Sunday nights this fall after UPN shuts down.
Shows from both UPN and the WB will be used on the CW, a joint venture between CBS and Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros.
Rock also took some pointed jabs at the CW's two-hour block of Sunday night comedies with primarily black casts, where his show has landed.
CW executives noted that one-third of their target audience of 18- to 34-year-olds identify themselves as minorities. The two-hour block aimed at minorities is the only one on the five biggest broadcast networks.
"Chris is going to be played by a white girl" next season, Rock said. He promised advertisers the shows will have "more white girls than you've ever seen before. They'll just walk by and say, `hi."'
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