Ahead of the release of his new standup specials at Netflix, Dave Chappelle recently met up with Gayle King for a lengthy CBS This Morning interview that aired today, which covers everything from his decision to walk away from Chappelle’s Show to living in a small Ohio town to how his thoughts on standup, fame, and spending more time on himself and his family have evolved over the years. Here’s what he told King about missing Chappelle’s Show:
Chappelle’s Show was like breaking up with a girl and you still like her, but in your mind you’re like “That bitch is crazy. I’m not going back.â€
His advice to students during a recent appearance at Allen University in South Carolina:
It’s okay to be afraid, because you can’t be brave or courageous without fear. The idea of being courageous is that, even though you’re scared, you just do the right thing anyway. So in 2004 I walked away from $50 million dollars and in November I made a deal for $60 million.
On his comments slamming Key and Peele last year:
I’m a fan of their show. When I did Chappelle’s Show, there were certain conventions of the show that the network resisted. And I fought the network very hard so that those conventions could come to fruition … So when I watch Key and Peele and I see they’re doing the format that I created and at the end of the show it says “created by Key and Peele,†that hurts my feelings.
On whether or not he draws a line with his comedy:
Comedy’s weird. The line moves – it changes. I think, especially in comedy, a lot of it has to do with intent … I think when you get to a certain altitude, there’s more scrutiny over the things you say, because the platform is so powerful.
Watch the full interview above.