Dave Chappelle takes aim at comparisons made by Charlie Kirk fans, comparing him to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his latest Netflix stand-up special, The Unstoppable, and he doesn’t hold back.
Chappelle said he’s unsure what to make of Kirk’s death. “I’m not making light of Charlie Kirk dying, but I don’t know what it means, and I’m not sure I believe what they say it means,” he said in the special. “What I don’t believe is this—people were quick to call Charlie Kirk this generation’s Martin Luther King Jr.…. No, he’s not… That’s a reach.”
“They both got shot in the neck,” Chappelle added. “But that’s about where those similarities ended.”
Chappelle went on to argue that Kirk was an internet personality and wouldn’t be able to function like Dr. King. He mentioned that online figures are often driven by negativity because outrage is what fuels engagement, adding that this dynamic defined Kirk’s platform.
He then joked about what it would look like if King were an internet personality, slipping into an impression: “Smash the like button and subscribe. Follow me for more content.”
“I believe all Black people should be free,” Chappelle added, before quipping, “Change my mind.”
“When all the information was still shoddy, they came out and said, ‘Apparently there were transgender messages inscribed on the bullets,’” he recalled in response to the bullets that were found during the investigation of Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University.
“I was like, ‘Oh no! I’m dead as fried chicken!,” Chappelle joked that his past anti-transgender remarks could potentially make him a target as well.
Chappelle brought up Congress’ voting decision to designate Oct. 14th as a National Day of Remembrance for Charlie Kirk.
“Everybody voted for it,” he said. “No, no—I’m not going to boo it,” in response to the boos from the crowd.
“Remember him if you want to. Remember him however you want to. But I do know most of those members of Congress voted for it because they’re afraid of political violence.”
Later in The Unstoppable, Chappelle also referenced Kirk while sharing an anecdote involving Stevie Wonder. He noted that Martin Luther King Jr., unlike Kirk, initially struggled to be formally honored.
Chappelle said that the only reason the holiday exists for Martin Luther King Jr. is because the King family and Stevie Wonder lobbied very hard and very long for it.
Chappelle also mentioned Kirk while reflecting on the shock of his friend Nipsey Hussle’s murder in 2019. “That’s why I feel for Charlie Kirk’s fans,” he said. “I know what it’s like to see someone you admire gunned down by a nobody. It’s incredibly hard to accept.”
Near the end of the special, Chappelle returned to Kirk one final time, drawing a comparison to himself.
“My voice has become more powerful than I ever intended it to be,” he said. “I can’t let what happened to Charlie Kirk happen to me—whether through violence or being co-opted and pushed to say things I don’t believe. We can’t have that.”
