Dave Chappelle

About

Dave Chappelle is an American standup comedian. Known for his observational comedy on race, America and sexuality, Chappelle received praise by critics and audiences, alike, for his world on the Comedy Central sketch comedy series Chappelle's Show, which inspired numerous memes, including Fuck Yo Couch, Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions and more. After roughly a decade away from the limelight, following his own dissatisfaction toward the reaction to the sketch series, Chappelle returned to standup comedy in 2015 with several specials for Netflix.

History

Early Career

Dave Chapelle began his stand-up comedy career in the early 90s in New York City. In 1993, Chapelle costarred in Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights, his first credited screen appearance. Following several prominent appearances and major motion pictures and television series, including Home Improvement, Con Air and Half Baked, Chapelle launched his own sketch comedy series, Chapelle Show in 2003.^[1]

Chappelle's Show

In 2003, Comedy Central began airing Chapelle's weekly sketch comedy series Chapelle's Show. The show was a massive success with critics and audiences. On the critical review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, ^[2] Chapelle's Show holds a 96% fresh rating.

In 2005, Comedy Central offered Chappelle a $55 million contract to continue the show, which he declined. During the production of the show's third season, Chappelle abruptly left shooting to travel to South Africa stating that he was under tremendous stress.^[3]

Post Chappelle's Show Career

Between 2005 and 2013, Chapelle continues to make surprise appearances at standup comedy clubs, where he occasionally performed for hours at a time. In 2009, he held his longest performance to date, with a six-hour and 12 minutes long set.^[4]

In 2013, Chappelle began performing standup comedy regularly again. Three years later, on November 21st, 2016, Netflix announced that Chappelle would release three new standup comedy specials for the streaming service, who paid Chappelle $20 million per special.^[5]

8:46

On June 6th, 2020, Dave Chappelle held the "Dave Chappelle & Friends: A Talk with Punchlines" event at the Wirrig Pavilion in Yellow Springs, Ohio. 100 people attended the event, which producers held outside, abiding social distancing.

On June 11th, Netflix released the comedy special 8:46 on YouTube without prior announcement. The post received more than 29 million views in less than six months.

Criticisms

Accusations of Transphobia and Homophobia

Chappelle has been criticized for making transphobic and homophobic jokes in his Netflix specials, specifically in the context of issues related to transgender identity and gender confirming surgery. In the specials, the comedian makes a number of jokes about transgender identity, issues and prejudice. Writing for the New Republic,^[6] Eric Sasson says of Chappelle's 2016 Netflix specials:

Here’s the problem: Even if some of his audience finds these dead-fish-in-the-barrel jokes funny, why does Chappelle? Chappelle’s Show was brilliant because it upended our notions of race, not because it trotted out tired stereotypes.

Chappelle is even more tone-deaf on transgender issues. He seems to have little interest or patience with any notion of transgender identity, going on an extended rant about how he “misses” Bruce Jenner. He reduces gender assignment surgery to a crude joke about how strange it would be if he and his friend were to go to the hospital one afternoon to “cut their dicks off.” Worse, he acts offended when someone corrects his use of a pronoun, as if it’s somehow a burden on him to have to refer to a transgender woman as a “she.”

Personal Life

Dave Chapelle was born in Silver Spring Maryland in 1973. He's married and has two sons and one daughter.

Related Memes

Dave Chappelle Reading White People Magazine

Dave Chappelle Reading "White People" Magazine is reaction image series featuring a screenshot of comedian Dave Chappelle reading a magazine bearing the title "White People" from the sketch comedy series Chappelle's Show. The meme is generally used to mock the behavior of white people online, focusing on stereotypes and bizarre behavior.

Fuck Yo Couch

Fuck Yo Couch is a catchphrase used to convey complete irreverence for another individual or a group. According to Urban Dictionary's definition, the expression can be seen as a superlative insult in comparison to "fuck you," as it not only signifies disrespect to the person but also his or her possessions and property.

Women Be Shopping

Women Be Shopping is a catchphrase from the 1996 film The Nutty Professor said by comedian Dave Chappelle as insult comic Reggie Warrington. The phrase has been used humorously online in various contexts.

Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions

Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions refers to a reaction image taken from Chappelle's Show in which Chappelle says the line. The still began growing popular in December of 2018.

Search Interest

External References