Why do I have a feeling we're going to be hearing about this for years!? Dave waxes on to Esquire magazine, as to why he decided to walk away from what was going to ensure his superstardom.
- Culturally: "The bottom line was, white people own everything, and where can a black person go and be himself or say something that's familiar to him and not have to explain or apologize?" - Professionally: "I felt like I was really pressured to settle for something that I didn't necessarily feel like I wanted." - Personally: "The thing about show business is that, in a way, it forces dysfunctional relationships in people."
These "explanations" are really on the vague side. Was he naive enough to think that he would have complete control over his show? If he really wasn't happy with things, then why sign the deal? It sounds like to me that the man just couldn't handle the pressure; it was all becoming way too overwhelming for him to deal with. Just own up to it dude.
Dave Chappelle Talks About His TV Exit [AP]
Steven says:
Shut-up Socialitelife! You don't know what you are talking about here.
s says:
of course it's hard to feel bad for someone who seemingly has it all, and chooses to walk away from it. but, it's his life, so who really cares? it's weird that people find this such a fascinating story.
in his mind he probably felt the content of what he was doing was being overwhelmed by the context (showbiz politics, general racism, personal unhappiness, whatever). it's odd that people seem to think money somehow counts more than all other factors in a job (after all it's the walking away from the money that makes this a compelling story). regardless of the money he was making, he was unhappy, so he walked away. he's still rich (by my standards, anyway) and it's not like he's going to be homeless or some shit. maybe unlike the vacuous 99.9% other celebs discussed on this site, money isn't the main motivator for his work.
i should be working says:
he's a funny and clever guy but shut up already and keep walking
Gabby Haze says:
What is this, the third excuse he's given? First it was he needed a rest. Then he claimed he felt uncomfortable making white people laugh when he played a crackhead. I'm starting to believe that story about the Dark Avengers.
Mrs. Chappelle says:
Whatever his reasons, we miss you Dave. And you have the right to whatever reasons you want to conjure up. You make me laugh and I want to be your wife. You are truly talented. The haters can't take that away from you.
mutterhals says:
I love Dave, but what the hell is he talking about? He's starting to sound a bit whiny...
Jaime says:
www.chapelletheory.com
Sambo says:
Spoken like a true whitey. Happy Passover, bitch!
keith Cohn says:
Davey boy liked smoking the rock a little too much and he lost his friggin mind, why is anyone surprised? The only reason we should care is that people who had jobs on the show and dont have anywhere near Chappelles nest egg got screwed because some rich guy flipped out a little.
Hey, at least he didnt pull a Martin Lawrence and lose his mind or start going after some tranny poonie like Eddie Murphy.
Chappelle just quit and like Ricky Williams at the time, I can respect him making a choice.
That's until I hear him bring up religion and then I just wanted to take a 2x4 and whack him in the head.
SoNotTrue
DC is too young to understand that he should have taken the deal to buy himself the freedom to do whatever he wanted when the term was up. 50 mm is a lot of money.
Jager Bomber says:
What he needs is some jager bombing.
Silas says:
I always thought Dave was probably a racist. Glad he confirmed that for me.
D.W says:
www.chappelletheory.com/
www.chappelletheory.com/
www.chappelletheory.com/
www.chappelletheory.com/
www.chappelletheory.com/
...read it... out of all the (non explained)reasons I've heard from the press and Dave himself, this seems to have a creepy true side to it.
GUNNSMOKE says:
BLACK PEOPLE HAVE TO EXPLAIN WHAT THEY SAY?? WHEN??!! WHITE PEOPLE CANNOT SAY ANYTHING-EVEN TELL A JOKE- IF IT IS ABOUT ANY OTHER RACE! SUCH A HYPOCRITE! I AM SICK OF THE ANTI-WHITEY JOKES FROM EVERY DARK SKINNED COMEDIENE.GET OVER YOUR COLOR AND RACE AND THEN MAYBE YOU CAN CATCH UP! THERE IS ANTI-WHITE PEOPLE [CAUCASIAN-AMERICAN] DISCRIMINATION IN THIS COUNTRY BIGTIME AND NORMAL WHITE PEOPLE ARE PUTTING UP W/ A LOT OF BULLSHIT FOR NO REASON EXCEPT THE INSECURITIES OF DARK SKINNED PEOPLE.GET THIS NEWSFLASH- ALL WHITE PEOPLE DONT HATE PEOPLE OF COLOR AND ALL WHITE PEOPLE DO NOT- I REPEAT- DO NOT OWN SLAVES!! FAST FORWARD 100 YEARS, PLEASE.
chester says:
I'm Rick James bitch!
Jenny Jets says:
Dave Chappelle ain't crazy. He never was and never will be because he had the sense to walk away, take back his power, and gain some perspective. The problem was that he was in a crazy situation, surrounded by money-crazy people (white collar sociopaths) in a media-crazy world and everybody was wantin' a piece of him. Everybody was paintin' their sh*t on him. Dave is walkin' his own sacred path, listening to his heart, with freedom of expression and creativity. Leave the guy alone and let Dave be Dave. I hope he finds some cool people to work with who understand and appreciate him as an individual and a creative genius.
Jenny Jets.