Dave Chappelle once said that amidst all the chaos and killings between police and people of color, Kobe Bryant playing his last game wholeheartedly and dropping 60 gave him solace.
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When Dave Chappelle talks, everyone in the room listens. Be it the comedy king Eddie Murphy, President Barack Obama or several Hollywood celebs and hip-hop artists, everyone admires Dave.
Back in 2020, the world was in shock by Kobe Bryant’s death, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and then a brutal racial crime on George Floyd by a Police officer. All of that had most of us in rage.
The world stood up against Police Brutality in the days to come, and the Black Lives Matter movement started. That will become a humongous protest in days to come. Most of the prominent individuals in every industry had condoned the incident and were asking for justice.
Meanwhile, many African-Americans wondered when the comedy and satirical genius would have his say on this matter. Dave took time to soak it all in and came out with a microphone in a friend’s backyard in his hometown and gave a 27-minute mesmerising monologue which was much more than a special on Netflix.
Also read: “Kobe Bryant bet me $50,000 to play him 1v1 but he HAS to guard me!”
“The only reason that it wasn’t the end of the world is that Kobe Bryant was playing his last game as an LA Laker”: Dave Chappelle
In his special, “8:46”, which at the time was believed to be the time that a Police Officer choked Floyd with his knee (later turned out to be 9 min 29 sec), Dave started with how he had already felt like the end of the world when five officers were killed in Dallas. Still, Kobe Bryant playing his last game and putting up 60 gave him hope.
“The night that those nine police officers were killed felt like the end of the world. The only reason that it wasn’t the end of the world, in my opinion, is because, at the same time that was happening, Kobe Bryant was playing his last game as an LA Laker,” Chappelle said.
There was a bit of miss-placing of facts there as well, as Chappelle recalled the two instances happening together, but the killings (of 5, not 9 policemen) happened a few months later. Maybe he was watching Kobe’s highlights that day. The arguable GOAT at comedy also touched upon Fox Sports’ journalist Laura Ingraham telling LeBron James and other NBA athletes to “shut up and dribble”.
“And as scary as all that s— was, I kept flipping back to see if Kobe would drop 60. And he did. Oh, and he did. And vaguely in the back of my mind, I remember that idiot-a*s bi–h telling somebody to shut up and dribble. And I watch this n—- dribbling and saving this god-damned country from itself.”
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