Candace Owens and Don Lemon have both addressed what Dave Chappelle had to say about them in his new Netflix comedy special, "8:46," about George Floyd's murder and the subsequent protests, and neither of them are too upset about his comments. In his new special, which premiered at midnight on Friday (June 12th), the comedian discusses the police killing of George Floyd and everything that came after, all the while putting a few public figures on blast for how they've handled the situation. One of the targets of Dave's ire was right-wing pundit, Candace Owens, who sparked outrage recently after making disrespectful comments about George Floyd.
"Candace Owens, that rotten b*tch, she’s the worst. I can’t think of a worse way to make money. She’s the most articulate idiot I’ve ever seen in my f*cking life," Dave said, among other critiques he made about her. Candace heard that Dave had brought her up in his special, and insisted on Twitter that she wasn't offended at all.
"To every Democrat tweeting me the clip of #DaveChappelle insulting me: I’m not a leftist. I have a sense of humor & I think comedians SHOULD make fun of people," Candace tweeted. "Dave Chappelle is one of the greatest comedians of all time and I made it into one of his specials. That’s POWER!"
"We’ve arrived too suddenly into a culture where people can’t laugh at themselves, or want to restrain comedians," she continued. "I will never be a part of that culture. Dave Chappelle—you are legend and I’d love to meet you and challenge you to say any of that to my face! All love!"
Dave also went after Don Lemon in his special for publicly naming celebrities who had yet to speak out on George Floyd's death at the time. "Do you want to see a celebrity right now?” Dave asked, in response to Don's plea. “Does it matter about celebrity? No, this is the streets talking for themselves, they don’t need me right now…Why would anyone care what their favourite comedian thinks after they saw a police officer kneel on a man’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds?” Don responded to Dave's comments on-air, indicating that, "I actually agree with Dave Chappelle."
"I agree that I think the establishment has been a bit behind—and I consider myself part of the establishment because I am over 40 years old," Don said. "They think that part of the world that we created and what we did, maybe we didn't move fast enough and we weren't strong enough and so they are out there fighting...I think they're not only speaking to the white people in this country, but also to all of us in the establishment. I think it's a moment we should all be using our platform to do whatever we can."
Elsewhere in his Netflix special, Dave took aim at Fox News host Laura Ingraham for her hypocrisy in supporting Drew Brees speaking out on politics but telling LeBron James to "shut up and dribble" back in 2018.
Dave Chappelle Goes After Candace Owens, Don Lemon, & More In George Floyd Special
Dave Chappelle called out a number of public figures in his new Netflix stand up special, in which he discusses the recent police killing of George Floyd.
Dave Chappelle returned to the stand-up stage in a new surprise Netflix special about the recent police killing of George Floyd, subsequent protests against police brutality and systemic racism, and everything in between. The special aired without promo in the early hours of the morning on Friday (June 12th), and sees the comedian laying into the media for how they’ve handled the murder of George Floyd and begging America to get on board with these protests.
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Dave begins the special by describing why this police killing of a Black American in particular was the last straw. “When I watched that tape I understood this man knew he was going to die,” he said, noting that it took him a week to finally be able to watch the horrific footage. “People watched it, people filmed it and for some reason that I still don’t understand, all these f*cking police had their hands in their pockets. Who are you talking to? What are you signifying? That you can kneel on a man’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and feel like you wouldn’t get the wrath of God? That is what is happening right now. It’s not for a single cop, it’s for all of it, f*cking all of it. I don’t mean to get heavy but we gotta say something.”
He goes on to ridicule CNN’s Don Lemon for famously calling out certain rich and powerful celebrities who hadn’t spoken out on this issue at the time. “[Lemon] says, ‘Where are all these celebrities? Why are you not talking?’ This n***a said, ‘Everybody.’ I was screaming at the TV, ‘I dare you to say me, n***a, I dare you!’ Has anyone ever listened to me doing comedy? Have I not ever said anything about these things before? So now all of a sudden this n***a expects me to step in front of the streets and talk over the work these people are doing as a celebrity.”
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“Answer me: Do you want to see a celebrity right now?” he continued. “Do we give a f*ck what Ja Rule thinks? Does it matter about celebrity? No, this is the streets talking for themselves, they don’t need me right now. I kept my mouth shut. And I’ll still keep my mouth shut. But don’t think my silence is complicit…Why would anyone care what their favourite comedian thinks after they saw a police officer kneel on a man’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds?”
Dave also ripped into the right-wing media by calling Fox News’ Laura Ingraham “a regular-ass white b*tch with a platform” and “a c*nt” for insisting Drew Brees has a right to his opinion about politics while telling LeBron James to “shut up and dribble” in 2018 for his activism. Next, Dave targeted Trump-supporting “free thinker” Candace Owens for her insensitive and disrespectful comments about George Floyd.
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“I’ve seen Candace Owens try to convince white America, ‘Don’t worry about it. He’s a criminal anyway,’” Dave says. “I don’t give a f*ck what this n***a did. I don’t care what this n***a did. Candace Owens, that rotten b*tch, she’s the worst. I can’t think of a worse way to make money. She’s the most articulate idiot I’ve ever seen in my f*cking life.” He goes on to drag her for suggesting that Black America had “chosen” Floyd to be their hero despite his past.
“‘Why does the black community make him a hero? Why did you choose him as a hero?’ We didn’t choose him; you did,” he tells Candace. “They killed him and that wasn’t right, so he’s the guy. We’re not desperate for heroes in the black community. Anyone who survives this nightmare is my god damn hero.” Watch the full special, titled “8:46,” below:
Don Lemon Calls Out Ellen, Oprah, Drake & More For "Doing Nothing" Amid Protests
Don Lemon called out a ton of famous and powerful people on air for not doing enough in the fight for justice in George Floyd's murder by police.
Don Lemon has had enough of Hollywood's rich and powerful staying virtually silent while protestors fight for justice on the frontline for George Floyd after he was murdered by police in Minneapolis. The CNN Tonight host called a ton of famous figures out by name for their lack of action amid these protests, some of whom he notes are close friends of his.
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"What about Hollywood? Strangely quiet," Don said during a conversation with Rev. William Barber while they observed footage of the protests going on across America. "I've seen them on Twitter, I see them, 'Oh, I'm loving what Don Lemon's doing'...But they gotta do more than that...Why aren't they helping these young people? These young people are out there standing on a platform at the edge of an abyss by themselves."
"Yes, I'm calling you out, and you can be mad at me all you want," he continued. "And what they're doing, you're sitting there and watching TV and you're b*tching abut it...Get on television or do something and help these young people instead of sitting in your mansions and doing nothing. And have some moral courage and stop worrying about your reputation and your brand." He went on to note that while monetary donations are desperately needed, "visibility is extremely important."
During his monologue, he discussed the need for powerful folks in the industry to step up. "I wanna see every white person of power and influence and wealth out here fighting for this cause and for young people," he said. "Every black person of power and wealth and substance fighting for these young people...For the young kids who are doing the right thing." He proceeds to call out massively wealthy celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Diddy, Drake, and more, acknowledging that while they do donate “millions,” their "visibility in helping speak out for these young kids” is what’s needed right now.
