Dave Chappelle didn’t hold anything back in his surprise, YouTube-released comedy special, and he took aim at two public figures in particular for their responses to the killing of George Floyd and Black men speaking out about racism.
Filmed on June 6 in Yellow Springs, Ohio, the special — titled 8:46 to commemorate the length of time Floyd suffered under former officer Derek Chauvin’s neck hold — takes on police brutality and racism, reports the New York Post.
While addressing the current political climate amid global protests for Floyd, Chappelle said that as a celebrity, no one should be looking at him for his political commentary. Referencing Don Lemon’s CNN segment asking why certain celebrities haven’t spoken about Floyd, the comedian said he does not want to speak over those protesting in the streets, according to Daily Beast.
“Ask me, do you want to see a celebrity right now? Do we give a f**k what Ja Rule thinks? Does it matter about celebrity? No,” he said. “This is the streets talking for themselves, they don’t need me right now.”
This whole segment from Dave Chappelle on celebrities speaking out on George Floyd is worth watching. pic.twitter.com/JDaLxDe9ZA
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 12, 2020
But he reminded everyone that his silence is not to be taken as complacency.
Chappelle also criticized Candace Owens, who brought up Floyd's past and tried to convince people, specifically white America, that we shouldn’t be upset about his death because of it. In a June 3 video posted to Twitter, Owens claimed Floyd was a drug addict without proof. Chappelle called her “the worst.”
“I can’t think of a worse way to make money. She is the most articulate idiot I’ve ever seen in my f**king life. She’s so articulate she can tell you how f**king stupid she is precisely,” he said.
dave chappelle totally destroying candace owens is my jampic.twitter.com/9ew2xBYbv8
— ☀️???? (@zei_squirrel) June 12, 2020
In response to the Trump supporter's claim that the Black community chose Floyd as a hero, Chappelle said no such thing took place.
“We didn’t choose him, you did. They killed him and that wasn’t right so he’s the guy,” the 46-year-old said. “We’re not desperate for heroes in the Black community. Any n***a that survives this nightmare is my god damned hero.”
Dave Chappelle fires back at Candace Owens for trying to convince people George Floyd is a criminal pic.twitter.com/vIWfYTljuW
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 12, 2020
Chappelle put another conservative commentator, Laura Ingraham, on blast for telling LeBron James to “shut up and dribble.”
“The b***h told my friend to ‘shut up and dribble.’ My friend is the best at something and this b***h is not the best at anything. Just a regular-a*s white b***h with a platform,” he said.
Dave Chappelle came for Laura Ingraham because she said LeBron James must “shut up and dribble.” pic.twitter.com/lQPPFeRDzP
— M I C H U (@MichuEmenalo) June 12, 2020
In a more serious portion of the special, the 46-year-old discussed how significant Floyd’s last words were, specifically when he called for his late mother.
"The kid thought he was going to die, he knew he was going to die. He called for his dead mother,” he said, according to Too Fab. “I've only seen that once in my life, my father on his deathbed called for his grandmother. When I watched that tape, I understood this man knew he was going to die.”
In the video's description, the actor included a link to the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization focused on ending mass incarceration.
Dave Chappelle was talking about this already 20 years ago.#DaveChappelle
#Anonymous
pic.twitter.com/Cu6oRYDz52— ANONYMOUS (@anonymous52727) June 12, 2020
Many on social media are reminding people that Chappelle has long spoken about racism and has used his comedy to recount his own experiences with bigotry.