Line #6 Creator/DaveChappelle


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6	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DaveChappelle_7896.jpg]]
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8	->''"I can’t even tell something true unless there’s a punchline behind it."''
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10	David Khari Webber Chappelle (born August 24, 1973 in Washington, D.C.) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer who achieved worldwide fame as the co-creator and host of the Creator/ComedyCentral variety show named (appropriately) ''Series/ChappellesShow'', and has gone on to be considered one of the greatest comedians of his generation.
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12	As far as early work goes, Chappelle's first credited role was in Creator/MelBrooks' ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'' as "Ahchoo". He was offered the chance to star as Bubba in ''Film/ForrestGump'', but he turned down the role, believing that the movie would flop at the box office (a decision he would come to regret). He also co-wrote and starred in the stoner comedy film ''Film/HalfBaked''.
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14	''Chappelle's Show'' was far and away Chappelle's claim to fame on a mainstream scale. The show ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2006, becoming a massive critical and ratings hit by its latter season, netting Chappelle two MediaNotes/{{Emmy\|Award}} nominations, and cementing him in the annals of 21st-century popular culture through [[MemeticMutation memes]] and quotes derived from his sketches that are still referenced to this day.
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16	However, amid anticipation of a third season of the show, Chappelle suddenly went missing and resurfaced in South Africa. As the world would later find out, he had decided that the fame was becoming too much, a conclusion driven heavily by Comedy Central [[ExecutiveMeddling getting involved in the show's production]] and him feeling that his mostly white fanbase was laughing at his jokes [[ModernMinstrelsy for the wrong reasons]]. He made appearances at stand-up stages, on talk shows, and in occasional independent projects, but he generally showed [[CelebrityIsOverrated no desire to reclaim the fame]] -- and the $50 million a third season would've secured -- that he walked away from at its height.
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18	Chappelle started a comeback in late 2016 by hosting ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', an episode which was acclaimed for being a welcome breather from the particularly nasty 2016 presidential election. Memorable moments included a lengthy opening monologue reflecting on the election’s outcome, a collaboration with Creator/ChrisRock for an election night skit, a parody of ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' featuring Chappelle as BigBad Negan as well as a returning number of his iconic show characters, and a "Last Call" sketch with series regular Creator/KateMcKinnon. This was followed by an intense bidding war by various networks to air new stand-up specials from Chappelle, with Creator/{{Netflix}} ultimately shelling out $60 million for the rights of two unreleased shows and a third produced in 2017.
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20	In October of 2019, as a tribute to his decades of wit, integrity, societal reflections, and impact on American culture, he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, presented to him at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. The award ceremony was broadcast on {{Creator/PBS}}, and can be partially viewed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwyeYmXjD1A&list=PL14hRqd0PELEjfsIkoSUHkGOYaZ91XOfS here]].
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22	----
23	!!Works of note:
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25	* ''Film/RobinHoodMenInTights'' (1993): Ahchoo
26	* ''Film/{{The Nutty Professor\|1996}}'' (1996): Reggie
27	* ''Film/ConAir'' (1997): Pinball
28	* ''Film/HalfBaked'' (1998): Thurgood
29	* ''Film/{{Woo}}'' (1998): Lenny
30	* ''Film/YouveGotMail'' (1998): Kevin
31	* ''Creator/{{HBO}} Comedy Half Hour'' (1998)
32	* ''Killing Them Softly'' (2000; comedy special)
33	* ''Film/UndercoverBrother'' (2002): Conspiracy Brother
34	* ''Series/ChappellesShow'' (2003-2006)
35	* ''For What It's Worth'' (2004; comedy special)
36	* ''Block Party'' (2005): AsHimself
37	* ''Chi-Raq'' (2015): Morris
38	* ''Film/{{A Star Is Born\|2018}}'' (2018): Noodles
39	* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'':
40	** Host for Season 42, Episode 6 (2016), in the immediate aftermath of UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump's presidential win, which won him an UsefulNotes/EmmyAward
41	** Host for Season 46, Episode 6 (2020), [[BookEnds coincidentally]] in the immediate aftermath of Trump's emerging loss in the presidential election, which won him another Emmy
42	** Host for Season 48, Episode 6 (2022)
43	* Creator/{{Netflix}} specials:
44	** ''The Age of Spin'' (2016)
45	** ''Deep in the Heart of Texas'' (2016)
46	** ''Equanimity'' (2017)
47	** ''The Bird Revelation'' (2017)
48	** ''Sticks & Stones'' (2019)
49	** ''The Closer'' (2021)
50	** ''The Dreamer'' (2023)
51	** UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic period shorts:
52	*** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tR6mKcBbT4 8:46]]'' (2020)
53	*** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJJ-Pu8WsZU Unforgiven]]'' (2020)
54	*** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhVCGl-Huqg Redemption Song]]'' (2021)
55	** Other official releases:
56	*** ''What's In A Name'' (2022) - speech at his alma mater, Duke Ellington School of the Arts
57	----
58	!!Chappelle's work shows examples of:
59	%%As with all Creator/ pages, trivia tropes about the creator specifically are to be posted here, not a Trivia/ page, as they technically are InUniverse in the case of the person's career.
60	%%However: As with all Creator/ pages, items that could go on a specific work's trivia page go there, not here.
61	* AffectionateParody: His typical "white man" accent is proper, lilted, and oftentimes affable in the face of whatever pretentiousness or faux pas said character will soon be involved with.
62	* BrickJoke: In ''The Age of Spin''. [[BlackComedyRape "He rapes, but he saves!"]]
63	* BrokenBird: His father died when he was struggling to make it in show business and when he finally made it, he faced a lot of personal struggles that led him to become more reclusive since.
64	* BrokenPedestal: Subverted in regards to Creator/BillCosby as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdJJRPf1x_U here]].
65	* CallBack: During his 8:46 special, he quotes a line he said decades earlier from a stand-up special for a more serious effect: "Do we give a fuck what Ja Rule thinks [at a time like this]?"
66	* {{Catchphrase}}: Becoming a PhraseCatcher for his own show bits led in part to his hiatus in Africa.
67	* CelebrityIsOverrated: He prefers a quiet life on a ranch in Ohio than being rich and famous.
68	* CharacterTics: Slapping the microphone against his thigh when he finds any of his own jokes particularly funny. In the Netflix specials, he sometimes runs his hand down the buttons on his done-up jacket when giving a monologue. He'll also occasionally hold his fingers up to his lips as if holding a cigarette, due to his years as a smoker.
69	* CreatorBacklash: He stands by the material created for ''Chapelle's Show'' but his disillusionment came from how people would take {{satire}} at [[PoesLaw face value]]. Especially with the use of BlackFace.
70	* {{Corpsing}}: Does this quite a bit in the Netflix specials.
71	* CynicismCatalyst: ''The Age of Spin'' has him talk about how his generation was raised on progressive television shows such as the ''WesternAnimation/CareBears1980s'' that taught them that positive emotions, understanding, and acceptance alone could win the day only to be despondent when they found out that wasn't the case. However, while he was disappointed that while it was impossible for him "to shoot love out of his chest" like a Care Bear, he has since then "shot love ONTO somebody's chest."
72	* DarkerAndEdgier:
73	** His half-hour special ''[[https://youtu.be/3tR6mKcBbT4 8:46]]'' is easily his most raw special to date. It has some jokes, but the majority of it has Chappelle in deep anger and pain as he speaks about the murder of George Floyd, the wider history of police brutality against African-Americans, and the uncanny connections the situation has to his personal life.
74	** His second filmed 2020 special, ''Unforgiven'', is even less joke-prevalent. It deals with events during his childhood career of him getting screwed over by others, which he compares to how Creator/ComedyCentral treated him over ''Chappelle's Show'', sending him in a deep rage over how they licensed his show to Creator/{{Netflix}} and Creator/HBOMax with him not getting a cent over it (though he made it clear that it wasn't the money but the lack of respect he received that made him furious).
75	* {{Deconstruction}}: His notable skill is in going through what might be seen as StockJokes, exploring their origins, highlighting the potential ridiculousness/justification behind such ideas/notions, and subsequently come out with a meaningful statement on RealLife dynamics and social questions. [[SubvertedTrope That is, if]] [[CrossesTheLineTwice he doesn't go off on a further tangent and take it back to hilarious]].
76	** At one point he deconstructs cartoons and kids' shows, comparing WesternAnimation/PepeLePew's constantly unwanted advances to sexual assault and calling ''Series/SesameStreet'' a very unsafe neighborhood filled with strange animals, on top of teaching kids to label people through their treatment of Oscar, who is homeless and has every right to be grouchy about it.
77	* DraggedIntoDrag: Discussed in his 2006 interview with Creator/OprahWinfrey, where he recounts the time he refused to do a DisguisedInDrag scene for a movie, with the writers, producers, and director trying to pressure him into relenting. He suggests that Hollywood likes putting black actors in drag scenes because it's a way of forcing them to humiliate themselves.
78	* DrugsAreBad: He smokes weed, but a lot of his stories involving it have him imperiled because of his usage such as his infamous two-night show in Detroit.
79	** Its also notable that Dave will almost always portray any drug other than weed in an entirely negative light, such as his awful mushroom experience or the {{Squick}} laden Tyrone Biggums character.
80	* DudeShesLikeInAComa: PlayedWith. Dave talks about "The Mercy Jerk" in one of his specials, wherein instead of badgering their wives for some late-night sex, husbands will quietly go to the bathroom to masturbate if their spouses look too tired or don't seem to be in the mood. However, he doesn't see anything wrong with jacking it to his wife's toes if she forgot to wear socks to bed because in his opinion, "you can't rape feet."
81	* {{Fetish}}: Related to the above, Dave Chappelle has joked about how he has a foot fetish.
82	* FridgeLogic: PlayedWith for laughs in his bit on Jussie Smollett.[[note]] Smollett, an actor on the TV show Series/{{Empire}}, infamously claimed that he had been the victim of a racist, homophobic hate crime...subsequently, he was accused of staging the entire event, which was later proven in court.[[/note]] Chappelle noted that if Smollett's alleged attackers had in fact been racist, homophobic white men, then they would never watch a show with a predominantly black cast and queer representation like ''Empire'' in the first place.
83	** Chappelle further joked that the specific insult Smollett alleged was thrown at him ("Aren't you that faggot-nigger from ''Empire''?") didn't sound at all like how white people talked and instead that [[BoomerangBigot "it sounds like something...that I would say!"]]
84	** Chappelle also mocked the entire story itself by questioning what on Earth someone would be doing out in Chicago at 2:30 AM in the winter[[note]] For those who don't know, Chicago is '''COLD''' in the winter, and that specific winter featured [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January%E2%80%93February_2019_North_American_cold_wave a particularly brutal cold spike]]. [[/note]], why that person would think to take the subway at such an ungodly hour, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking why on earth someone would seek to eat Subway sandwiches at 2:30 in the morning]]. Then there's his vision if how the police reacted:
85	-->'''Chappelle''': So, where were you going. ''(beat)'' Subway? ''(beat)'' Sandwiches?!
86	* GreenEyedMonster: He has expressed mild, if playful, envy of the relative swiftness of the LGBTQ+ community's societal progress (decades), only for him to have the audacity to complain about it not going fast enough when African-Americans had to endure centuries of protracted discrimination to attain similar basic civil rights.
87	** Also playfully brought up when he went to see fellow comedian Creator/KevinHart together with his son.
88	* GroinAttack: "So I kicked her in the pussy!". That was the punchline he worked up for when talking about what he did as a child when the mother of his friend didn't have enough Stovetop Stuffing for everyone.
89	* IAmNotSpock: During his stand-up on Creator/MichaelRichards' racist rant, Chappelle kept calling him [[Series/{{Seinfeld}} Kramer]].
90	* InsultBackfire: He recounts his wife calling him "a pussy" in front of company and then turning it around by admitting that he is "a pussy" in the sense that he's "soft and warm and persuasive" like "a pussy" and that if she doesn't take care of him, then he'll start to stink "like (her) pussy."
91	* KarmaHoudini: While driving home with a friend, they were pulled over with his pal being arrested for refusing to take a breathalyzer test. Not wanting to waste time in the police station just so he could be transported to where he wanted to go hours later, Dave decided to do the breathalyzer test himself (a feat the officer at hand thought ill-adviced since his friend claimed to be his designated driver) to prove he was stable enough to drive home...and passed. Not because he was sober, but because the device was meant to detect alcohol, not marijuana.
92	** In another case one of Dave's friends was pulled over for speeding while the two were out. With his explanation to the officer being "I'm sorry, I didn't know I couldn't do that", and was let off with a warning.
93	*** [[CrossesTheLineTwice And then his friend turned towards Dave and said “You know what’s funny, Dave? I DID know I couldn’t do that!”]]
94	* LargeHam: Most of his characters are loud, boisterous, and have a tendency to do a lot of yelling.
95	* ManlyGay: He was once accused of attacking the "masculinity" of homosexual men with his gags. He points out that "fucking another guy in the ass" is "the most gangster shit" he's ever heard about.
96	* MarsAndVenusGenderContrast: Chappelle does tend to go through the usual motions/gags involved in the dating game, sex and marriage, although he does go out of his way of further questioning these stereotypes while at the same time pointing out the origins of why men, women and other genders hold on to those anyway.
97	* MiseryPoker: Brought up in the ''Age of Spin'' special which Dave calls "comparative suffering".
98	* NWordPrivileges: Chappelle has explored the word on many different levels, pushing what was OK to say on TV and diving into the culture behind it. When people started treating the word casually because of how mainstream his work had become, he was very taken aback.
99	* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Every night, whenever she goes to bed earlier than him, his wife tells Dave not to eat the lunches she packed for their kids because of how he used to take big bites out of them to cure his munchies while everyone else in the house was asleep, culminating in his son punching one of his schoolmates in the face because he wrongly believed she was the one eating his meals behind his back.
100	* OrphanedPunchline: Inverted. Chappelle claims that truly experienced comedians can come up with punchlines first and then create jokes around them, essentially a reversal of the usual process. To support this claim, he provides the example of "So I kicked her in the pussy!" and proceeds to create a gag for it to cap off. Twice.
101	* RageBreakingPoint: PlayedForLaughs when he describes how he got [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore so sick of people coming up to him and saying "I'm Rick James, bitch!"]] when he was with his family in Disney World, culminating with him punching the head off the last person who said it to him that day. And that person? ''Mickey Mouse!''
102	-->'''Dave''': ''Gasp!'' I can't believe that Mickey Mouse is a ''Mexican''!
103	* ReclusiveArtist: Famously disappeared for months after leaving ''Chappelle's Show'' abruptly, only for people to learn he ''[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere went to Africa]]'' to try and avoid media attention. In an interview with Oprah he said he loves being famous but was disillusioned with how the entertainment empire was trying to control him, as no one paid attention to him until it became evident he was worth something.
104	* RunningGag: In ''The Age of Spin'', the four times Dave met O.J. Simpson -- the last of which was told ''after'' his final punchline.
105	* StopBeingStereotypical: In ''Killing Them Softly'', he notes that he was taken aback when a waiter automatically assumed he would order the fried chicken in a restaurant just because of his ethnicity (and he was right). Chappelle entered a brief HeroicBSOD as he considered that perhaps instead of eating chicken because it was delicious, he ate it because he was genetically predisposed to enjoy it...right before eating the chicken anyway.
106	* SympathyForTheDevil: For UsefulNotes/OJSimpson, who Dave believes to be guilty, but nonetheless admires for his athletic feats. During his second and third encounters with him anyway.
107	-->'''Sharon:''' How could you?... How could you shake hands with that ''murderer?!''\
108	'''Dave:''' Sharon, with all due respect... that murderer ran for over 11,000 yards.
109	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: Many of his most famous sketches included punctuated curses.
110	-->"I'm Rick James, bitch!"\
111	"[[Creator/SamuelLJackson Sam Jackson's]] beer! It'll get you drunk! Mmm-mmm, bitch!"
112	* UncleTomfoolery: One of the reasons he decided to end his show was because people were starting to see his characters this way. Instead of making fun of the stereotypes and showing how ridiculous they were, people were laughing ''at'' the stereotype.
113	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: This trope is why he'd be reluctant to ever call 911, since those messages have a tendency to find their way to national television if the cases related to them are grisly enough. Understandably, no one would be all too focused on talking in a dignified or courageous manner during such a call, but Dave is still worried that if he perished regardless, his friends would bemoan how he "died crying like a bitch."
114	* WhiteGangBangers: Dave discusses TokenWhite gang members in one of his specials, saying that the white thug is probably the worst out of all of them, since he had to do something to gain the black members' trust. He also says that the white gang bangers are there to talk to the police when something bad happens.
115	-->"You'll be walking down the street and you'll see a bunch of black dudes walking, not just any old black dudes, we're talking 'thugs'. And in the group, they got one, or two, sometimes as many as three white guys with them, you ever seen that shit? Well let me tell you something about those white guys. Those white guys are the most dangerous motherfuckers in them groups. It's true, man. There's no telling what kind of crazy shit they've done to get them black dudes' respect, but I'll tell you they've done some wild shit.'"
116	* WhiteLikeMe: One of his recurring bits was to dress or talk as an "average white man" to play on white stereotypes.
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Context Creator / DaveChappelle