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Comedian Dave Chappelle slammed a local San Francisco-based journalist during a set for criticizing his previous jokes.
“I was that snitch,” SFGATE senior culture editor Dan Gentile wrote in a piece last week. Gentile claimed that he was in the audience when Chappelle had “stopped a joke short, pivoting to how hard it is to be a celebrity because there’s always one snitch in the room.”
Gentile recalled how Chappelle opened his show “by talking about how he got in trouble with the ‘local news’ in 2023 for a joke about how San Francisco needed a Batman. The ‘local news’ was me.”
Throughout the article the writer complained about Chappelle allegedly using slurs and politically incorrect jokes he deemed offensive in numerous ways, as well as the fact he was unable to record them, having to rely on “frantic under-the-table scribbling.”
In 2023, Chappelle told a story about dining in San Francisco, where he saw a homeless person defecate in front of the restaurant just as he entered. The comedian argued at the time that San Francisco had devolved into a “half ‘Glee,’ half zombie movie” and argued that the entire city had become like the Tenderloin, a San Francisco neighborhood infamous for its crime, homelessness and drug problems. “Y’all [expletive] need a Batman!”
Dave Chappelle’s reportedly called out local news for being critical of his previous show, arguing one has to be wary of snitches among the audience. (Mathieu Bitton/Netflix)
“Meanwhile, about 40 feet away, I scribbled down his words in my notebook, suddenly terrified that my neighbors would notice — and snitch on the snitch,” Gentile wrote.
The San Francisco writer noted that Chappelle “uses a service called Yondr, which collects attendees’ cellphones on entry, hence my frantic under-the-table scribbling.” Gentile appeared to suggest that rather than merely stopping his shows from being viewed online for free by people recording, that he is also insulating himself from sparking public backlash.
Dave Chappelle performs during a midnight pop-up show at Radio City Music Hall on October 16, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by (Jason Mendez/Getty Images for ABA))
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The San Francisco journalist criticized the concept of what he called “Comedians’ Rights,” where he lamented that people defend a comedian’s right to joke about anything and everything without regard for societal impact.
“And, in a sense, without any documentation — thanks to confiscating people’s cellphones — a comedy show like this can be a bubble,” Gentile wrote. “You’re temporarily in a club whose members have decided that normal rules of polite speech do not apply. That’s why it’s so fun.”
VideoBut Gentile appeared to suggest that jokes can be dangerous because they “embolden opinions, opinions lead to actions, and actions lead to consequences that can’t be contained by locking a cellphone in a pouch.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Chappelle’s publicist and did not receive an immediate response.
Fox News’ Ashley Hume contributed to this report.
Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Alexander.hall@fox.com.
