Dave Chappelle finds it “easier” performing for Middle Eastern audiences than these in North America.
The six-time Emmy winner launched his new Netflix comedy particular Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable… on Friday December 19. In it, he addresses the years of backlash to his jokes about transgender individuals. The controversial jokes surfaced as early as Chappelle’s 2021 particular The Closerwhich triggered a walkout by some Netflix employees members.
In the particular, as shared by The Hollywood ReporterChappelle advised a Washington, D.C. viewers that he “doesn’t feel guilty at all” about performing in Saudi Arabia. The comic was a performer through the Riyadh Comedy Festival in September, which involved some American followers as a result of Saudi Arabia’s conservative views on the LGBTQIA neighborhood and different human rights points.
“These motherfuckers act like because I did a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia I somehow betrayed my principles,” Chappelle joked. “They said, ‘Well, Saudi Arabia killed a journalist’ and rest in peace Jamal Khashoggi. I’m sorry that he got murdered in such a heinous fashion. And also, look bro, Israel’s killed 240 journalists in the last three months, so I didn’t know y’all were still counting.”
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists“As of December 12, 2025, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 249 journalists and media workers were among the more than tens of thousands killed in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel, and Iran since the Israel-Gaza war began” in October 2023. So it is probably Chappelle meant “two years” moderately than “three months.”
The comic added that it was “easier to talk in Saudi Arabia” than the United States.
“But I’ve gotta tell you something — transgender jokes went over very well in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
Elsewhere, Chappelle nodded to an look price of $6 million, expressing that it “feels good to be free.”
“And I know that the people in Saudi Arabia can’t say all the things that I was allowed to say,” he mentioned. “But a deal’s a deal, and the king mentioned that I might say this stuff. So I checked out it like I used to be on a diplomatic mission: I’ve gotta convey pussy jokes to the Middle East.”
No controversial matter was off-limits for Chappelle in his new particular, as he additionally tackled the loss of life of conservative media pundit Charlie Kirk and Diddy being convicted.