Apr 4
Jerrod Carmichael on Dave Chappelle: An 'Egomaniac' who 'Wanted Me to Apologize to Him'
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Jerrod Carmichael remains perplexed at Dave Chappelle's fixation on the transgender community, and recalls the controversial comedian's response when he called Chappelle out on it, Variety reports.
Carmichael was speaking with Esquire, the digital edition of which he covers this month, when he looked back at Chappelle's dismissive comment on Carmichael's on-stage coming out during his comedy show "Rothaniel" in 2022.
Chappelle, the out comic noted to Esquire, blasted "Rothaniel" as "the bravest special for 1996," as though coming out three decades later isn't also challenging.
"And it's like, that's a funny enough line," Carmichael said, "but I wonder if he gets the irony that the fact that you are mocking it even then is why it was hard."
Perhaps not.
"Back in 2022, Carmichael told The Hollywood Reporter that Chappelle's legacy is currently 'a bunch of opinions on trans shit,' which he called 'an odd hill to die on'," Esquire recalled.
Revisiting that comment with Esquire, Carmichael explained that Chappelle is "not revealing anything personal about himself" in his anti-trans riffs, "and he's removed from what he's talking about, and I think he's smarter than that and deeper than that and has more interesting thoughts."
But Chappelle didn't seem to think that Carmichael was encouraging him to find something more constructive or enlightening to talk about.
"He took it as 'Fuck Dave Chappelle'," Carmichael told Esquire, "because he's an egomaniac.
"He wanted me to apologize to him publicly or some shit," Carmichael added.
Variety recalled what else Carmichael had to say to The Hollywood Reporter back in 2022:
"Childish jokes aside, who the fuck are you?" Carmichael wondered about Chappelle, adding that the anti-trans jokes were "just kind of played.
"But he's choosing to die on the hill," Carmichael added. "So, alright, let him."
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
