Comedian Dave Chappelle shared his thoughts on the death of George Floyd in a speaking piece he named 8:46, a reference to how long a white Minneapolis police officer prodded his knee into the neck of Floyd who eventually died from the encounter.
The 27-minute special, that dropped at midnight on Thursday (June 12) was distributed online through Netflix’s comedy division Netflix Is A Joke. Now available on YouTube, the No. 2 trending video has already reached 12.6 million views, with more than 525,000 giving it a thumbs up and a whopping 19,000 giving it a thumbs down.
While the format of the show was similar to that of a comedy stand up, there was nothing funny about what Chappelle was saying. Wearing all-black, Chappelle delivered his message in signature Dave style, sitting on a stool and smoking a cigarette.
He covered CNN correspondent Don Lemon calling out celebrities for being silent during the George Floyd protests. Then, he transitioned to criticizing Candace Owens, a right wing conservative that trolls the black community by intentionally adopting ideas and philosophies adverse to the black community.
Chappelle also mentioned the infamous LAPD officer Christopher Dorner who went on a vigilante killing spree attacking cops before he was shot dead during a standoff with officers.
Chappelle addressed Kobe Bryant’s death, saying that his jersey numbers 8 and 24 is actually Chappelle’s birthday, August 24. Ironically, the amount of time that Floyd was suffocated, 8 minutes and 46 seconds, eerily matched when Chappelle was born at 8:46 p.m.
One of the most significant and debatable things Chappelle said was that he felt like he did not have to say anything about the protests for racial injustice and inequality. He was comfortable letting the “young ones” carry the burden of the fight for civil and human rights.
Chappelle’s indolent stance seemed to be overlooked by his fans who were just happy to hear the comedian speak. A very dangerous “sheeple” behavior that lacks inquisition and critical thinking. That’s neither here or there, however.
He wanted everyone to know that the reason why he isn’t on the frontlines saying anything is because he “knows what he’s seeing” and he trusts the streets to do all the talking.
But unbeknownst to Chappelle, he said a lot.
Check out the special below.
