What is going on with Dave Chappelle? The comedian, whose slow-motion comeback (that began in 2011), which led to a headlining role on Funny or Die's Comedy & Curiosity Festival, has been making headlines for his performances — though possibly not the ones he wants.
"I don't want anything bad to happen to the United States," he told a Chicago audience Tuesday night, according to audio posted on YouTube (note: contains vulgarities), "but if North Korea ever drops a nuclear bomb on this country, I swear to God I hope it lands in Hartford, Connecticut."
On Aug. 29, Chappelle performed in Hartford, and reportedly stopped mid-way through his set and started reading a book while smoking and insulting some in attendance.
"It was a typical crowd, yelling out the occasional 'I love you' or something random," attendee Latanya Barrett told The Hartford Courant. "But every time anyone would scream anything, he would stop speaking and tell us how awful we were." After 25 minutes, Chappelle left the stage.
In Chicago, Chappelle told the crowd they were "so much better than Hartford," and that he will never go back there, not even for gas. He said the crowd in the Connecticut capital was full of "young, white alcoholics" and that he wanted to call them "crackers."
"I know that s---'ll be on YouTube," Chappelle said. "'Funnyman Dave Chappelle calls a room full of white people 'crackers.' Couldn't do that. I felt bad when Kramer did that s--- to us," he said.
(Chappelle was referring to former "Seinfeld" actor Michael Richards, who responded to heckling during a show in 2006 with a tirade that included multiple uses of racial epithets.)
Still, these incidents are just the latest in Chappelle's erratic professional career. He's best known for leaving his popular Comedy Central series "Chappelle's Show" in 2005 and stepping out of the spotlight for several years.
He's clearly back in the spotlight now, and he owes a hat tip to Prince for that, too. The artist recently tweeted an image for the "cover" of his new single, an image which featured Chappelle dressed up just like Prince.
The Comedy & Curiosity Tour continues until Sept. 22.
