Who could forget Dave Chappelle? The breakthrough comedian from rural Ohio who first made a name for himself in the film “Robinhood: Men In Tights” but then had a string of successful movies including the now classic, “Half Baked. But it wasn’t until he landed his own on on the then fledgling network, Comedy Central, that Dave and the hilarious Chappelle’s Show took off. It became the highest rated, most watched show in Comedy Central history and the DVD of the show became the highest selling TV show DVD ever.
TAKE A LOOK: Dave Chappelle’s Funniest Moments In History
But when Dave, on the impeding Season 3 of the show decided to walk away from his contract and $50 million dollars, many people questioned his mental health. But in his interview with Oprah, he explained how he walked away from becoming more and more “socially irresponsible” and wanted to bring back the fun of comedy without all the stress.
Over 10 years later, Dave is back in stand up and doing well! He also has a lot to say about what’s happening in our world right now–specifically with race and the entertainment business.
On Race Relations
“This is a very surprisingly emotionally charged time,” he said to the AP, “so people like me, I think, are very relevant and necessary in sorting through all this information and emotional content. And when we are at our best, hopefully we are doing a great service to many people.”
“The biggest enemy of an artist is apathy … A kid gets killed by the police and I buy a T-shirt and before I can wear that one, there’s another kid (killed) and I’m running out of closet space.”
On Not Being Seen As Much
“I’ve been out here doing comedy the whole time. But if certain people don’t see you, it’s not that you don’t exist, it’s just that they haven’t seen you. Sometimes I’ll do shit and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s so great.’ And I’ll think, ‘I would love to share this.’ And then I can talk myself out of it for any number of reasons.”
On What Life Is Like Now
“I have a very good life, a high quality of life. I have both money and time. No one has that. My kids are older now, so when I make decisions within the public eye, it affects more than just me. This year I’ve been way more generous with my time, as far as what I’m willing to share. And it’s been great. People have been very supportive. They’ve always been supportive. But it was good to reaffirm that I actually did have a rapport with…
Dave Chappelle: Don’t Call It A Comeback was originally published on blackdoctor.org
