(AllHipHop News) Many fans have been waiting years to see Dave Chappelle return to their screens, especially after his successful stint as the host of Saturday Night Live last November.
The comedy legend is not reviving his popular Chappelle’s Show television series, but he will be presenting two new stand-up specials on Netflix.
As part of the run-up to the presentations airing on the streaming site, Chappelle gave a rare interview with The New York Times.
He commented on the difficulty of lampooning the new President, the death of the music icon that inspired one of his most famous characters, and the public fall of a childhood comedic hero.
On doing jokes about Donald Trump:
He’s so skewed, it’s hard to find an angle that sounds fresh. If you talk about him, it’s almost like you’re part of the chorus and not a soloist.
On the passing on Prince:
It’s a hard thing to talk about. I looked up to him like everybody did. I didn’t know him that well, but the times that we hung out were fun and very memorable and often funny. He was very generous with his advice, and he was very generous with his access. He let me see some of his process. He fostered a community among artists.
On Bill Cosby:
The Bill Cosby thing was tough for me. I’m not saying that to detract from his alleged victims at all. But he was a hero of mine…
So many bad things happened to our heroes: Muhammad Ali had Parkinson’s; Richard Pryor had M.S.; Prince died too young. And Bill just looked like one of the guys who was going to get to the finish line and just die of old age. And this happened. Jesus Christ. It’s awful.
Dave Chappelle’s Deep in the Heart of Texas and The Age of Spin comedy specials are scheduled to premiere March 21 on Netflix.