Dave Chappelle stuns audience with Charlie Kirk comment in surprise Netflix comedy special

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Dave Chappelle has once more publicly discussed the attempted assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan’s new Netflix special, The Unstoppable, released on December 20th, features a segment where he discusses the late internet personality, Kirk. According to USA Today, Gaffigan described Kirk as a surprisingly wholesome person, making his death all the more shocking.

As someone who makes a living through speaking, I can tell you it’s become increasingly difficult to have open conversations. Seeing what happened to Charlie Kirk – the attack during his show – honestly rattled me. It was a shocking moment, and the whole special, which is about 75 minutes long, really dives into that feeling and the broader issues around speaking freely right now.

Kirk, 31, was fatally shot while speaking at a Utah college campus on September 10.

Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with several crimes, including aggravated murder, in connection with the death of the Turning Point USA founder.

Okay, so Dave Chappelle, he talked about Kirk again – you might remember he mentioned him back in Saudi Arabia at that comedy festival? This time, he brought up those crazy early reports about the bullets used… the ones saying they had messages about transgender people written on them. It was all over the news, super shocking. Apparently, those reports were walked back later, CNN said so, but still… it’s just stuck with me, you know? It’s so disturbing to even think about.

The comic made light that he, too, could be a target, per Entertainment Weekly.

He was, of course, referencing anti-transgender remarks he’s made in the past,

When the initial reports were unclear and confusing, someone claimed they’d found messages about transgender issues written on the bullet. I immediately felt like I was in serious trouble.

The comedian strongly rejected the idea of comparing Kirk to Martin Luther King Jr., who was tragically shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.

I remember when Dave Chappelle pointed something out that really struck me. Immediately after Charlie Kirk spoke, a lot of white people started comparing him to Martin Luther King Jr. And Chappelle was right to call that out – it was just not accurate at all.

He dismissed the comparison, saying it was a stretch. While both victims were tragically murdered and shot in the neck, those were the only real similarities between the cases.

Chappelle explained that Charlie Kirk is an inflammatory online personality. He argued that Kirk, by his very nature, can’t be compared to someone like Martin Luther King Jr. Chappelle believes online figures often rely on negativity to gain attention, stating that people won’t interact with them unless they’re provoked by controversial statements. He summarized this by saying that’s exactly the strategy Charlie Kirk employs.

He then playfully asked the audience to picture this: What if Dr. King acted like Charlie Kirk, constantly asking for likes and followers? He imagined Dr. King saying something like, ‘I believe all Black people should be free – try to prove me wrong!’

This isn’t the first time Chappelle has taken pointed jabs at Kirk’s assassination.

During his performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia on October 1st, the comedian, who has hosted SNL four times, made fun of Kirk.

Dave Chappelle told a crowd of 6,000 people that there’s a perception in America that simply mentioning Charlie Kirk could lead to backlash or being ‘canceled,’ as reported by Variety.

‘I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out.’

Chappelle’s latest Netflix special covers a wide range of topics, including his performance in Saudi Arabia, current events in American politics, the legal issues facing Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, censorship, ‘cancel culture,’ and the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

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2025-12-21 00:48