Chappelle takes on racism in latest show
As Dave Chappelle watched George Floyd cry out for his dead mother while a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, it conjured memories of the only other time the comedian had heard such a plea: from his own father on his deathbed.
“This kid thought he was going to die, he knew he was going to die,” Chappelle said. “When I watched that tape, I understood this man knew he was going to die.”
Performing in front of an intimate, socially distanced crowd for a surprise Netflix special called 8:46 that dropped late Thursday night, the comedian celebrated the nationwide protests sparked from Floyd’s death in recent weeks while struggling to understand the reason behind his passing.
“What are you signifying that you can kneel on a man’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds and feel like you wouldn’t get the wrath of God?” he asked. “That’s what is happening right now. It’s not for a single cop, it’s for all of it.”
For the special, which is streaming free on Netflix’s comedy YouTube channel, Chappelle performed a June 6 show at an outdoor pavilion in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with about 100 attendees.
In the 27-minute performance, which focuses more on discussion than jokes, Chappelle told the small crowd that it took him a week to watch the video of Floyd’s death outside Cup Foods. He repeatedly referred back to the length of time former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck, which served as the title of his special.
“I can’t get that number out of my head because it was my time of birth on my birth certificate,” Chappelle said. “I was born at 8:46 in the morning and they killed (Floyd) in eight minutes and 46 seconds.”
Chappelle lashed out at the media response to Floyd’s death and the protests. He took issue with CNN’s Don Lemon, who called out the Hollywood elite for “sitting in your mansions and doing nothing” during violent protests last month.
Chappelle brushed back Lemon’s critique, saying it was not his place to “talk over the work these people are doing.”
“Listen to me, do you want to see a celebrity right now? No!” he said. “This is the streets talking for themselves ... Why would anyone care what their favourite comedian thinks after they saw a police officer kneel on a man’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds?”
When Chappelle spoke of Floyd, he slammed political commentator Candace Owens, who said she was sickened that the Minneapolis man was “held up as a martyr,” pointing to his criminal record and an autopsy report showing he had drugs in his system. Chappelle challenged Owens after she questioned why Floyd was being looked at as a hero for the Black community. “We didn’t choose him! You did,” he said. “They killed him and that wasn’t right, so he’s the guy. We’re not desperate for heroes in the Black community.”