Dave Chappelle has always exhibited an introspective, relatable, and wholly unique take on the world and current events; that honesty and candor have garnered him plenty of fans. The comedian stayed true to himself during his latest on-screen appearance.
Chappelle was a guest on the third season and the Oct. 21 premiere of David Letterman’s Netflix show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” He takes part in what the show promises to be deep, involved discussion on in-depth topics.
In a preview clip of the new episode, it seems that Letterman is staying true to the show’s premise. The former late-night host broached the topic of George Floyd, and his greater influence on the conversation about race. He mentioned that the late Congressman John Lewis, who devoted his life to the cause of civil rights after being almost being beat to death by a police officer, and how he passed away the same summer George Floyd’s murder sparked massive protests across the nation.
Chappelle had a thoughtful response. “I was shocked that nobody ever talked about what it feels like to watch a man get murdered that way by a man in a police uniform,” he said.
Chappelle added, “What a tragic footnote to a tragic culture. This is a lot to unpack. Nights like this are important. Just talking about it. We’re countrymen, all of us. We live in America. We all got our problems, our strifes. It’s weird now, because this game of ‘who suffered more,’ everyone keeps getting the ball. They act like everyone’s suffering is mutually exclusive from everyone else’s, and you and I both know that this is far from the case.”
He contended that, “There’s a lot of angles that you could approach this and look at this from and learn from each other from. It’s a thing, and I’m troubled about the volume of it,” he continued. “It doesn’t sound like something that’s settling or hurtling towards an easy resolution.”
Letterman then asked Chappelle if this could be an era that signals “real change,” and Chappelle maintained that while he’s optimistic, the road to change likely be long and somewhat difficult.
“I’m not making any predictions. I’m very hopeful, yes, that there will be real change, and just traditionally, just from my experience, change is never like a comfortable proposition. It’s uncomfortable before it’s comfortable again.”
The full interview will be available on Netflix, as part of season three of “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.”
