FILE: Dave Chappelle performs during a midnight pop-up show at Radio City Music Hall on October 16, 2022 in New York City.
Jason Mendez/Getty Images for ABA
Dave Chappelle just released a new comedy special streaming on Netflix called The Dreamer, and once again San Francisco makes a big appearance.
Chappelle has a long history in the city and became a regular at Punch Line after quitting his Comedy Central show. Later in his career, he developed a friendship with the late trans comedian Daphne Dorman, a San Francisco resident whom he frequently addressed in his stand-up specials. He was widely condemned by LGBTQ groups for his transphobic comments.
The comedian typically returns to San Francisco a few times a year (he once referred to the city as “an ATM” where he played whenever he needed money). When he comes to town, controversy usually ensues — at the Chase Center in 2022 he got Elon Musk booed, and at the Masonic he railed against San Francisco State. However, in his final appearance at Punch Line in July 2023, he appeared to have moved beyond the culture war humor that tarnished his reputation among many fans.
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Although he announced at the end of his previous special, “The Closer,” that he was done telling jokes about the trans community, he continues to talk about LGBTQ people and gender identity in “The Dreamer.” The tone is less antagonistic, but the punchlines serve as a stark reminder of the previous controversy. Some jokes seem lazy; in other moments, Chappelle flashes his old brilliance. Whatever you think of Chappelle at this point, “The Dreamer” probably won’t change you.
Midway through the set, Chappelle leaves the stage to smoke a cigarette and returns to tell a detailed story about San Francisco. At the age of 22, Chappelle was offered an HBO comedy special filmed at Broadway Studios in San Francisco in North Beach. The venue was above a nightclub, and 20 minutes into Chappelle's performance, the club began playing loud music, which Chappelle believed ruined his show (although the disruptive music is not audible in the final product).
After that SF show, Chappelle kicked down the door to the production trailers outside the venue and began yelling at the staff. Producers blamed one of the people associated with the nightclub, so Chappelle directed his anger at a man associated with the venue, whom he identified as a Russian gangster. Chappelle ended up in the club's dark kitchen and insulted the gangster, who blamed the producers. When Chappelle realized he was wrong, he apologized.
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“It's a funny thing when you think you're absolutely right. “You can get drunk on how right you are,” Chappelle says, before adding a punchline about gay people.
After apologizing to the gangster, Chappelle said he had a realization in San Francisco that he explained in the final 10 minutes of his set.
“In every moment of your life, the strongest dream in that moment wins that moment. I am a very strong dreamer…
“It’s the trick of life. You must be wise enough to know when you are living in your dream. And you have to be humble enough to accept being in someone else’s life.”
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