In his fifth Netflix special, titled Sticks & Stones, Chappelle rails against the perceived softness of many different groups: Louis C.K.’s victims, Kevin Hart’s detractors in the gay community, and Michael Jackson’s survivors, whom he says he doesn’t believe anyway. Chappelle also directs his exasperation at his own audience, or at least the kinds of viewers who aren’t interested in supporting artists and celebrities responsible for horrendous things. “If you do anything wrong in your life,” he ventriloquizes, “and I find out about it, I’m gonna try to take everything away from you. … You’re fucking finished.” But as is so often the case with those who accuse others of having thin skin, it’s mostly projection. “This is the worst time ever to be a celebrity,” Chappelle complains early on. He bemoans “celebrity hunting season” several more times, and a photo montage during the end credits, in which the comedian poses with the likes of Will Smith, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Chris Rock, and Jon Stewart, betrays his true affiliation despite his car-mechanic-alluding designer coveralls. Even the comedian’s son’s not safe from the wrath of the public. “You probably gonna get shot, nigga,” Chappelle imagines telling his child, who has just undergone a school-shooting drill. “You got a famous dad. I talk a lot of shit. They gonna be gunning for you, little buddy.”
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