Dave Chappelle told a sold-out audience at Madison Square Garden that he felt “better” since the assassination of Charlie Kirk, while acknowledging that he was uncomfortable discussing the reaction publicly.
In a leaked clip circulated on X, the comedian said: “I feel f***ed up saying this. It’s scary being a public speaker. And I mean look, ever since that guy Charlie Kirk got murdered … and I shouldn’t say this publicly, but I feel better.”
Chappelle added: “I know I shouldn’t say that, but it’s just a feeling. I didn’t ask to feel this way. I just be driving around like, ‘Why am I in such a good mood? Oh!’”
The comments come after Chappelle has previously spoken critically about Kirk, including in his Netflix stand-up special The Unstoppable.
In the special, Chappelle objected to comparisons between Kirk and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He said Kirk “fundamentally can’t function like” a civil rights leader and argued that internet personalities “are negative because they have to be”.
Kirk was assassinated at Utah Valley University in September 2025.
