Culture

Dave Chappelle Just Dropped A Powerful New Special About George Floyd And Police Brutality

The special was surprise released on YouTube for free.

by Joseph Earp  13 June 2020
Dave Chappelle

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Overnight, with nothing in the way of forewarning, comedian Dave Chappelle dropped a 30-minute stand-up special.

Titled 8:46, the length of time that Derek Chauvin had his knee on the neck of George Floyd, the special is a marked change from Chappelle’s usual fare. It features little in the way of the traditional jokes or one-liners that the comedian has in the past slotted into his even most serious work. Instead, it is a direct call to action.

“This is weird and less than ideal circumstances to do a show,” Chappelle says as introduction to his mask-wearing audience. “But the only way to work out if this shit will work is to do the goddamn show.”

From there, Chappelle launches into material about Floyd’s murder. “This man kneeled on a man’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds,” Chappelle said. “Can you imagine that? … [Floyd] called for his dead mother. I’ve only seen that once in my life, when his father on his deathbed, called out for his grandmother.”

Later, Chappelle also looks at a number of other incidents of police brutality, saying there were times he considered leaving America altogether.

Shortly thereafter, Chappelle sets his aim on Candace Owens, a conservative commentator who has made a number of disparaging comments about Floyd after his death. “I can’t think of a worse way to make money,” Chappelle says of Owens’ role as a right-wing agitator.

The special is already attracting plaudits online, with some calling it the most powerful work the comedian has ever done

The Dave Chappelle special can be watched in full, for free, on Netflix’s YouTube account, here: