Dave Chappelle returned to the stand-up stage in a new surprise Netflix special about the recent police killing of George Floyd, subsequent protests against police brutality and systemic racism, and everything in between. The special aired without promo in the early hours of the morning on Friday (June 12th), and sees the comedian laying into the media for how they've handled the murder of George Floyd and begging America to get on board with these protests.
Dave begins the special by describing why this police killing of a Black American in particular was the last straw. “When I watched that tape I understood this man knew he was going to die,” he said, noting that it took him a week to finally be able to watch the horrific footage. “People watched it, people filmed it and for some reason that I still don’t understand, all these f*cking police had their hands in their pockets. Who are you talking to? What are you signifying? That you can kneel on a man’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and feel like you wouldn’t get the wrath of God? That is what is happening right now. It’s not for a single cop, it’s for all of it, f*cking all of it. I don’t mean to get heavy but we gotta say something.”
He goes on to ridicule CNN's Don Lemon for famously calling out certain rich and powerful celebrities who hadn’t spoken out on this issue at the time. “[Lemon] says, ‘Where are all these celebrities? Why are you not talking?’ This n***a said, ‘Everybody.’ I was screaming at the TV, ‘I dare you to say me, n***a, I dare you!’ Has anyone ever listened to me doing comedy? Have I not ever said anything about these things before? So now all of a sudden this n***a expects me to step in front of the streets and talk over the work these people are doing as a celebrity."
“Answer me: Do you want to see a celebrity right now?” he continued. “Do we give a f*ck what Ja Rule thinks? Does it matter about celebrity? No, this is the streets talking for themselves, they don’t need me right now. I kept my mouth shut. And I’ll still keep my mouth shut. But don’t think my silence is complicit…Why would anyone care what their favourite comedian thinks after they saw a police officer kneel on a man’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds?”
Dave also ripped into the right-wing media by calling Fox News’ Laura Ingraham “a regular-ass white b*tch with a platform” and “a c*nt” for insisting Drew Brees has a right to his opinion about politics while telling LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” in 2018 for his activism. Next, Dave targeted Trump-supporting “free thinker” Candace Owens for her insensitive and disrespectful comments about George Floyd.
“I’ve seen Candace Owens try to convince white America, ‘Don’t worry about it. He’s a criminal anyway,’” Dave says. “I don’t give a f*ck what this n***a did. I don’t care what this n***a did. Candace Owens, that rotten b*tch, she’s the worst. I can’t think of a worse way to make money. She’s the most articulate idiot I’ve ever seen in my f*cking life.” He goes on to drag her for suggesting that Black America had “chosen” Floyd to be their hero despite his past.
“‘Why does the black community make him a hero? Why did you choose him as a hero?’ We didn’t choose him; you did,” he tells Candace. “They killed him and that wasn’t right, so he’s the guy. We’re not desperate for heroes in the black community. Anyone who survives this nightmare is my god damn hero.” Watch the full special, titled “8:46,” below:
