Dave Chappelle is at it again. And this time it is right here in ‘The Gayest Place On Planet Earth’. Chappelle took on what he calls “the gays” and especially trans people in 2022 and 23 almost unlike anyone else in America.
So last fall when Seminole Hard Rock Live announced he would perform New Years Eve, it caught many by surprise. There is no denying his popularity.
When the first show sold out, they added a 2nd show, then a 3rd, a 4th and a 5th. He has been here in Fort Lauderdale through New Years and his shows were timed with a simultaneous launch of his new Netflix special New Years Eve. Called “Dave Chappell, The Dreamer” is exactly what you have come to expect, an equal opportunity offender. The uber free speech preacher is often hilarious.
That’s of course if he is not talking about you. So it also comes as no surprise he takes on “the gays” in the first 13 minutes of the show. And it was exactly what the crowd wanted. Cringy and all.
Here are the highlights. He tells an extended story about Jim Carey playing Andy Kaufman. Chappelle explains Carey was a genius and wanted so badly to meet him but when he did, Carey never came out of Kaufman character. So pretending to be someone else, he says “that’s how Trans people make me feel.” Critics have said Chappelle has made a career of “punching down.” He immediately tries to take that off the table by saying “if you came to this show tonight thinking I’m going to make fun of those people again. You’ve come to the wrong show… I’m not fucking with those people anymore. It wasn’t worth the trouble. I ain’t saying shit about trans people…I’m not talking about them no more. Tonight, I’m going to be doing handicapped jokes. They’re not as organized as the gays. And I love punching down.”
It was a theme he returned to several more times. In fairness, his stories about Will Smith and Chris Rock, who he toured extensively with last year were fascinating.
Another moment is him talking about last year's show at the Hollywood Bowl when a man attacked him on stage who claimed he was offended because he was LGBTQ+. The attacker had a “gun” that was actually a blade. Chappelle makes a joke that the change made the gun… trans.
He offended white, black, women, wheelchair bound politicians and pretty much everyone else. But it’s his Trans jokes and his “handicap metaphors” that hit the hardest.
One poignant moment was a long story at the end of his performance where he extends an olive branch to members of the LGBTQ+ community. He tells an interesting story of his respect for Lil Nas X and that he was a real dreamer who succeeded where others didn’t. And he only needed having sex with Satan to do it. In a final moment Chappelle says “... to be honest with you, I have been trying to repair my relationship with the Transgendered community.” #Trans Rights