In his latest Netflix comedy special, released on Friday, 20 December, Dave Chappelle has directly addressed the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an event he describes as profoundly unsettling for anyone who speaks publicly for a living.
Chappelle's Candid Reaction to a Shocking Crime
The 52-year-old comedian, in the 75-minute special titled The Unstoppable, referred to the 31-year-old Kirk as "an internet personality" and "a wholesome white guy", expressing how the nature of the death left him shaken. "This is another reason it’s hard to talk in America," Chappelle stated, "because if you talk for a living and see Charlie Kirk get murdered that way, I’m gonna be honest, I was shook."
Kirk was fatally shot on 10 September while speaking at a university campus in Utah. The alleged assailant, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, faces multiple charges, including aggravated murder, for the death of the Turning Point USA founder.
Addressing Transgender Bullet Reports and MLK Comparisons
Chappelle also delved into the initial, since-retracted reports that the bullets used in the killing were inscribed with transgender messages. This led the comic to darkly jest about his own safety, referencing past controversies over his material. "When all the information was still shoddy, they came out, they were like, 'Apparently there were transgender messages inscribed on the bullet.' I was like, 'Oh no! I'm dead as fried chicken!'" he told the audience.
A significant portion of his routine was dedicated to dismissing comparisons drawn between Charlie Kirk and the assassinated civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "And the whites were quick to say this. They said, 'Charlie Kirk is this generation’s Martin Luther King.' No, he’s not," Chappelle asserted. He conceded both men were shot in the neck but argued the similarities ended there, characterising Kirk's role as fundamentally different from that of Dr. King.
"Charlie Kirk is a mother---in' internet personality. By design, fundamentally, he can't function like Dr. King," Chappelle said, explaining that online figures often thrive on provocation.
Previous Comments and Broader Special Themes
This is not the first time Chappelle has publicly commented on Kirk's murder. On 1 October, during a performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, he tested the boundaries of so-called cancel culture by mentioning the activist. "Right now, in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you'll get canceled," he told the crowd of 6,000. "I don't know if that's true, but I'm gonna find out."
The Unstoppable covers a wide range of other contentious topics beyond this incident. The special also features Chappelle's reflections on his Saudi Arabia performance, American politics, the legal issues facing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, and the pervasive themes of censorship and cancel culture in modern discourse.
