Dave Chappelle finds it "easier" performing for Middle Eastern audiences than those in North America.
The six-time Emmy winner released his new Netflix comedy special Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable… on Friday December 19. In it, he addresses the years of backlash to his jokes about transgender people. The controversial jokes surfaced as early as Chappelle's 2021 special The Closer, which caused a walkout by some Netflix staff members.
In the special, as shared by The Hollywood Reporter, Chappelle told a Washington, D.C. audience that he "doesn't feel guilty at all" about performing in Saudi Arabia. The comedian was a performer during the Riyadh Comedy Festival in September, which concerned some American fans due to Saudi Arabia's conservative views on the LGBTQIA community and other human rights issues.
"These motherfuckers act like because I did a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia I somehow betrayed my principles," Chappelle joked. "They said, 'Well, Saudi Arabia killed a journalist' and rest in peace Jamal Khashoggi. I’m sorry that he got murdered in such a heinous fashion. And also, look bro, Israel’s killed 240 journalists in the last three months, so I didn’t know y’all were still counting."
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, "As of December 12, 2025, CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 249 journalists and media workers were among the more than tens of thousands killed in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Israel, and Iran since the Israel-Gaza war began" in October 2023. So it's likely Chappelle meant "two years" rather than "three months."
The comedian added that it was "easier to talk in Saudi Arabia" than the United States.
"But I’ve gotta tell you something — transgender jokes went over very well in Saudi Arabia," he added.
Elsewhere, Chappelle nodded to an appearance fee of $6 million, expressing that it "feels good to be free."
"And I know that the people in Saudi Arabia can’t say all the things that I was allowed to say," he said. "But a deal’s a deal, and the king said that I could say these things. So I looked at it like I was on a diplomatic mission: I’ve gotta bring pussy jokes to the Middle East.”
No controversial topic was off-limits for Chappelle in his new special, as he also tackled the death of conservative media pundit Charlie Kirk and Diddy being convicted.