Comedian Dave Chappelle has released a blistering Netflix special in which he addresses the killing of George Floyd, police brutality and the horrific legacy of slavery. The 25-minute set is entitled 8:46, referencing the period of time (eight minutes and 46 seconds) that police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck in Minneapolis last month.
Chappelle says he did not feel able to watch the footage of Floyd’s death until a week later, and he imagines the terror that the 46-year-old would have felt. “Anyone who sees this,” he says, reflecting on the pain of watching the footage, “they’re going to be furious.”
In a set that includes commentary on the deaths of Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin, Chappelle considers the role of celebrities during the protests. “This is the streets talking for themselves,” he says. “They don’t need me right now.” He also applauds those who have supported the Black Lives Matter movement. “I want to shout out to all the young people who have had the courage to go out and do all this amazing work protesting – I am very proud of you.”
The impassioned show, which Chappelle acknowledges as being “not funny at all”, was released online on Thursday. It was filmed live on 6 June, is Chappelle’s first stage performance in almost three months, and took place before a socially distanced audience who can be seen wearing face masks and undergoing temperature screenings. Chappelle says it is the first concert of its type in the US since the Covid-19 lockdown began. There have been other drive-in comedy shows, where audiences “honk the horn” if they like a joke, which Chappelle says “didn’t sound like any fun”.
The show is available for free on YouTube with an accompanying link to find out more about the Equal Justice Initiative, which was founded in 1989 and is committed to “ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society”.
At George Floyd’s memorial service in Minneapolis earlier this week, Rev Al Sharpton called for eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence.
