Dave Chappelle Says Charlie Kirk “Was No MLK” In New Netflix Special

Sometimes comedians fall flat, especially when they write jokes about a recently murdered person without understanding the fundamental facts of their life.  Is it possible to make comedy about a recent assassination and be legitimately funny.  Probably.  However, Chappelle missed a golden opportunity to expose some truth and instead tried to play it safe and ride the political fence. 

In Chappelle’s latest Netflix comedy special entitled “The Unstoppable”, the comedian touched on the issue of Kirk’s murder but never provided any profound insights.  He did try to put himself in Kirk’s shoes, admitting his fears that he could end up in the same position due to his criticisms of trans ideology.

“This is another reason it’s hard to talk in America, ’cause, you know, if you talk for a living and see Charlie Kirk get murdered that way, I’m gonna be honest, ni*ga, I was shook. I mean, Charlie Kirk is the wholesome white guy, and they killed this motherfucker.”  

“…When all the information was still shoddy, they came out, they were like, ‘Apparently, there were transgender messages inscribed on the bullets.’ I was like, ‘Oh no! I’m dead as fried chicken!’”

The brass cases were actually inscribed with Antifa slogans and a “furry” meme, though the prime suspect, Tyler Robinson, is a far-left gay man who was living with his transgender boyfriend at the time.  According to the charging record, Robinson’s conservative parents confronted him about the killing and said that he confessed to committing the crime.  They convinced him to surrender to police after he indicated he might commit suicide.    

It’s unfortunate that Chappelle so carefully avoided the elephant in the room by ignoring this fact, as well as the widespread celebration among leftists over Kirk’s death.

In the wake of the event there was a relentless progressive propaganda campaign designed to misinform the American public that Tyler Robinson is a “MAGA conservative” instead of a gay leftist.  This culminated in a propaganda screed by another “comedian”, Jimmy Kimmel, who used his network platform to spread the same falsehoods.  Chappelle defended Kimmel instead of acknowledging why his show was punished by the network. 

Like Kirk, Chappelle also faced an attack when a gay man carrying a knife rushed him on stage because of a routine about transgender people.  The comedian says he is now fearful of going on stage and being killed.

“My voice has become more powerful than I intended it to be, and I cannot let these n*ggas do me like Charlie Kirk. Or even worse than that, what if these n*ggas trip me up somehow, co-opt me, and then make me say the things that they want me to say? We can’t have that.”

The comedian claimed that “white people” compared Charlie Kirk to Martin Luther King, and then he mocked the notion. 

Dave Chappelle trashes Charlie Kirk in his new standup special, acting like Charlie was purely an online influencer instead of someone who toured and shared his message in person and amplified those IRL interactions via social media pic.twitter.com/h1fA6v6yWb

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 20, 2025

Critics argue that comparing Kirk to MLK was never an actual point of contention among conservatives (or white people in general) and that Chappelle has constructed a strawman to pander to liberals and “centrists.” 

Chappelle calls Kirk an “internet personality” and seems completely oblivious to his numerous campus talks and the size and scope of the Turning Point USA movement.  If there are any similarities (beyond assassination) between MLK and Kirk, it is that they both engaged with the public and students regularly on college campuses to defend their ideals. 

And, if we’re talking about religious devotion or Christian virtue, at least Kirk was faithful to his wife.  MLK was a notorious adulterer.

It should be mentioned that Charlie Kirk defended Dave Chappelle’s comedy routines on the transgender issue when Chappelle was facing career cancellation by the political left.  He also condemned the lack of charges against the man who attacked Chappelle onstage, warning that it would encourage further political violence. 

Dave Chappelle exposes the truth about trans as only he can. This is brilliant. WATCH: pic.twitter.com/bV71LaM6E1

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) January 1, 2024

The very idea that comedians today have a fear of violent reprisal for political jokes shows that, unfortunately, assassinations can be very effective in squelching free speech simply by compelling people to self censor.  Leftists know this well, it’s the reason they cheered for Kirk’s death and called for more killings. 

Chappelle, like most celebrities, may be greatly overestimating his political influence.  If Charlie Kirk is no MLK, then Dave Chappelle is definitely no Charlie Kirk.  That said, the weak response by public figures like Chappelle against the political left’s violence only emboldens them further.