The funny, provocative and thought-provoking 75-minute special was filmed in October at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C., Chappelle’s hometown. However the village of Yellow Springs, where Chappelle has called home for more than two decades, is top of mind in the opening minutes.
“I’ve been very busy in Ohio,” Chappelle said. “The town that I’ve been living in for the last 25 years — I bought most of it. I like it there. Ohio loves Trump but this town I live in is like a little itty-bitty Bernie Sanders island in a Trump sea.”
Credit: Mathieu Bitton
Credit: Mathieu Bitton
As Chappelle continues to accumulate property in the village (“I’m collecting the whole town,” he joked), he praised his ownership of the YS Firehouse, a popular venue that has hosted comedy shows, hip-hop concerts and film premieres since opening in 2023. Many high-profile entertainers have performed there but the comedian’s wish list includes rock legend Mick Jagger.
“Every famous person I’ve ever met I ask them to play that club,” Chappelle said. “I’ve seen Mick Jagger from the Rolling Stones at a party. I said, ‘Yo, Mick, you gotta come to Ohio and play my club.’ And he was into it.”
“The Unstoppable” is Chappelle’s eighth standup special for Netflix, following “The Age of Spin,” “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” “Equanimity,” “The Bird Revelation,” “Sticks & Stones,” “The Closer” and “The Dreamer.”
“Facing a world gone sideways, comedy icon Dave Chappelle delivers bold truths and potent punchlines in this no-holds-barred special,” noted the official Netflix description.
In his mission to be no-holds-barred, the comedian particularly addressed his controversial performance in September at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, which drew criticism from Bill Maher.
“Listen, I made a lot of money,” Chappelle said. “But I’ll take money from Saudi Arabia any day just so I can say no over here. It feels good to be free.”
In addition to jokes about the transgender community, he also criticized Israel.
“Israel has killed 240 journalists in the last three months so I didn’t know ya’ll were still counting,” Chappelle said in reference to the Jewish state’s war with Hamas.
Other subjects throughout the special include Charlie Kirk (branded as an “Internet personality”), Sean “Diddy” Combs, Nipsey Hussle, Jimmy Kimmel, Elon Musk and Jack Johnson, the first Black world heavyweight boxing champion.
“Having freedom is one thing — not having freedom is another thing — but using freedom that you don’t have takes an enormous amount of courage — no matter how selfish you are with it,” Chappelle said of Johnson. “Jack Johnson is an American riddle that we’ve got to solve.”
The special, in which Wright State University film graduate Ian Cook served as director of photography, concludes with Stevie Wonder’s “Joy Inside My Tears” playing over images of Chappelle’s visit to Africa along with photos of him with a playful plethora of his celebrity friends.
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