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Dave Chappelle returned to the scene on Sunday with his seventh stand-up special for the streamer. He doesn’t hold back, mocking his Hollywood Bowl attack and drawing attention to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. The result is a controversial, entertaining performance, complete with trans and disabled jokes.
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Dave Chappelle isn’t exactly toning it down, but his new stand-up special The Dreamer is arguably more reflective and tackles a broader array of topics than his last couple of Netflix efforts.
On Sunday, the controversial comedian returned to Netflix with The Dreamer, his first full-length stand-up special in two years.
The Dreamer plays more like a traditional comedy special than 2021’s ultra-controversial The Closer — which was criticized for being hyper-focused on the trans community and Chappelle defensively responding to his critics — yet the comedian still targets marginalized groups, such as the disabled. One lengthy bit in the new special is about paraplegic former North Carolina Republican representative Madison Cawthorn, who famously alleged he was invited to Washington sex parties. “I don’t doubt they do this shit in Washington [but] who the fuck invites a paraplegic to an orgy?” Chappelle wondered, and, at one point, declared: “I love punching down!”
After telling one anecdote that leads to a punchline about the trans community, Chappelle says, “Now if you guys came here to this show tonight thinking I’m gonna make fun of those people again, I’m not fucking with those people anymore. It wasn’t worth the trouble.” (Still, he took a couple shots anyway).
“It’s a funny thing if you feel you’re absolutely right; you can get drunk at the feeling of how right you are — it’s why gay people are so mean,” he says at one point.
Shifting into fresher territory, Chappelle weighed in on Will Smith’s infamous Oscar moment slapping Chris Rock onstage in 2022, and mocked Rock for declaring “I refuse to be a victim” in his Netflix special, joking, “Watch the tape!”
Chappelle also spent some time detailing his own onstage attack at the Hollywood Bowl that same year (“Everything’s funny until it happens to you”). Chappelle noted, “For a homeless guy, this n—a had incredible seats” and joked about his assailant getting pummeled by his security team on stage. “[If Will Smith attacked me] I do now know what Will Smith would not have done and that is enjoy the rest of his evening.”
The Dreamer was shot in Chappelle’s hometown of Washington, DC at the historic Lincoln Theatre. The special was directed by Emmy-winner Stan Lathan, who previously helmed Chappelle’s other Netflix specials.
Chappelle’s last two specials, 2019’s Sticks & Stones and The Closer, resulted in major critical blowback for Netflix, particularly due to the comedian’s comments about the transgender community.