Remembering Dave Chappelle’s Funniest Jokes While Unpacking New Netflix Farewell ‘The Closer’

When it comes to standup comedy these days, nobody pokes the hornet’s nest quite like Dave Chappelle. He’s the type of comedian who feels most at ease while making every person in the room uncomfortable, a puckish highwire act of pushing things to the breaking point before somehow releasing (most of) the tension with a laugh. It’s a tough edge to walk, one that relies on the audience checking their baggage at the door and withholding judgment until the final bell. His latest Netflix special, The Closer, in many ways is that final bell.

There’s no doubt over the course of his 30-year career that this no-holds-barred style has gotten Chappelle into more hot water than a Korean bathhouse. Yet nothing in the comic provocateur’s career has stirred up nearly as much mayhem as his six Netflix specials. With each new hour, his already razor-thin margins have gotten microscopic.

Now, with so much controversy surrounding his Netflix farewell, including calls to ban the special and employees being suspended for crashing executive meetings in protest, unpacking this hour-long show feels a little like unpacking a ticking time bomb from a flaming suitcase. So naturally, it’s the perfect time to take a stroll down memory lane while haphazardly removing the contents of The Closer. Shoot. Did anybody bring gloves?

Cover Photo: Netflix

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