Dave Chappelle had some raw but rigorous words to say about George Floyd’s murder in his Netflix comedy special 8:46 that was surprise-released on YouTube Thursday night (June 11).
Titled after the amount of time former Officer Derek Chauvin spent kneeling on Floyd’s neck in Minnesota, the stand-up comedian discussed police brutality at length during his unrefined 27-minute segment. He also targeted some famous figures, including politically conservative commentator Candace Owens, who described Floyd as “neither a martyr or a hero” while reading his rap sheet in a video she posted last week.
“I seen Candace Owens try to convince white America, ‘Don’t worry about it. He’s a criminal anyway.’ I don’t give a f— what this n—a did. I don’t care what this n—a did. I don’t care if he personally kicked Candace Owens in her stanky p—y,” Chappelle stated. “I don’t know if it stanks, but I imagine it does. If I ever find out, I’ll let you know for sure. I’ll tell like Azealia Banks. I’ll tell.”
Owens responded to his backlash on Twitter today (June 12). “We’ve arrived too suddenly into a culture where people can’t laugh at themselves, or want to restrain comedians. I will never be a part of that culture,” she tweeted. “@DaveChappelle — you are legend and I’d love to meet you and challenge you to say any of that to my face! All love!”
Chappelle also told off Don Lemon by explaining how he refused to speak for those organizing on the streets, after the CNN anchor previously called on Black members of Hollywood to use their voices to amplify the Black Lives Matter movement.
“What I will say is that I actually agree with Dave Chappelle,” Lemon responded during a CNN segment today. “I think that the young people who are out there in the streets don’t really care what [the establishment] have to say…. But I do think that this is a moment… that we should all be using our platform to do whatever we can and at least to show those young people and those people out there that we support them.”
Artists like Diplo, St. Vincent and Kardinal Offishall praised Chappelle’s overall message, saying he’s “One of the best cultural critics of our time” and someone “to be treasured and protected at all costs.”
J. Cole‘s Dreamville record label returned the love to Chappelle, who walked up to the stage of his socially distanced gig from June 6 in Yellow Springs, Ohio to the tune of J.I.D‘s “151 Rum.”
Catch Chappelle’s Netflix comedy special 8:46 and the celebrity reactions below.
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