Dave Chappelle Slams Bill Maher in Controversial New Netflix Special

Dave Chappelle used his new Netflix stand-up special, The Unstoppable, to respond directly to Bill Maher after Maher questioned his decision to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia. The special premiered on Netflix on Dec. 19 and quickly drew attention for Chappelle’s blunt comments.

During the show, Chappelle spoke about the criticism he has faced in recent weeks. He said the backlash came after news spread that he had taken part in the Saudi comedy event. He told the audience he was aware of the anger but made it clear he did not feel bad about his choice. “Recently in the news, I’ve been getting a lot of grief, again, because I did a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia,” Chappelle said on stage.

Chappelle then turned his attention to Maher, whom he said he has known since his late teens. He expressed frustration with Maher’s public comments and criticism. “I’ve never said this publicly, but f*** that guy. I’m so f**** tired of his little smug, cracker-a** commentary,” Chappelle said, drawing loud reaction from the crowd.

Maher had previously talked about the Riyadh Comedy Festival on his HBO show Real Time. While he praised comedians who took part and called them “brave,” he pushed back on Chappelle’s claim that it felt easier for him to speak freely in Saudi Arabia than in the United States. “It’s not true,” Maher said on air. “Do your hunk on Mohammed, Dave.”

In The Unstoppable, Chappelle addressed that comment directly. He said he never expected his words to turn into headlines and explained that he was simply sharing his own experience.

“I didn’t tell them to put this in the paper. I just said it on stage,” he said. Chappelle added that recent backlash in the U.S. shaped his view, pointing to the controversy around his transgender jokes. “Two years ago, I almost got canceled right here in the United States,” he said, before noting that those same jokes were well received by Saudi audiences.

The Riyadh Comedy Festival featured several major comedians, including Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings and Aziz Ansari. Not everyone supported the event. Jimmy Kimmel, David Cross, Marc Maron and Shane Gillis all criticized the festival publicly. Others who attended defended it afterward. Burr even called the experience one of the best of his career.

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