Comedian Dave Chappelle has endorsed businessman Andrew Yang for president and has announced he will perform two shows ahead of the South Carolina primary on January 29 and 30, in coordination with the campaign.
“I’m Yang Gang!” said the two-time Emmy and Grammy award-winning comedian, best known for his sketch comedy series "Chappelle’s Show," in a statement.
Yang hopes the endorsement, combined with previous support last month from rapper and actor Donald Glover, who has since joined Yang's campaign as a creative consultant, can further launch his name into the public consciousness.
"[Chappelle] is one of the most important voices in our country today and I’m thrilled he has thrown his support behind this campaign,” Yang said. “He and I share similar concerns about the future and hopes for what it could be. We are also parents who see the world that we are leaving to our kids and believe they deserve better.”
Yang has differed from the other candidates in the race, focusing much of his campaign on the issue of automation and a universal basic income strategy he entitled the freedom dividend. Under the proposal, every American over the age of 18 would be given $1,000 every month to do with what they please.
The announcement of the endorsement comes after the campaign recently received the bad news they would not be invited to participate in the January Democratic debate. The campaign argued in a statement that a lack of new polling during the allotted time period hurt Yang's chances
"We are not going to allow the DNC to dictate who they wish to see as the nominee and deny the will of the people. The issues that will decide this election, and the future of our country, are too important to ignore for the sake of staged political bickering," said Campaign Chief Nick Ryan in a statement. "The DNC tried to run this same play in 2016 and they paid for it with a loss in the general.”
According to the campaign, further information for the two shows have not been made public, but would be before the shows took place.
