We really can’t help feeling the delicious schadenfreude over this. Dave Chappelle surprised audience members during his Bay Area gig by bringing Elon Musk, out as a special guest. It’s possible the intent was to do some sort of bit with the bumbling billionaire. But an eruption of boos from the crowd overpowered any cheers, and continued until Dave ended his show.
Chappelle has already made himself a pariah of the LGBTQ community after his Netflix special involved tasteless transphobic jokes. Something Chappelle and Netflix have collectively been severely judged for. Whatever his intent with this move, it definitely went pear-shaped. Particularly when Musk’s arrogant comment “You weren’t expecting this, were you?” only makes the audience louder.
Chappelle tries to play it off. “Cheers and boos, I see”, but it’s clear he’s realizing this is an enormous mistake. What unfolds instead is a thorough bruising of two fragile egos. The booing starts and does not stop. Musk can’t get a word in edgewise and even gets interrupted by the irate comedian. Nothing he says stops the crowd, merely encourages them to continue. His frustration gets more evident as he tries to salvage the situation.
Eventually the jeers start to feel directed towards both men and not just Musk. Chappelle directs thinly veiled ire at the audience. And though it’s not in this video clip, snippets on Twitter have captured the end of the show. With Musk asking “What should I say, Dave?” to which Chappelle replies “Nothing.” before he thanks the audience and ends the night. Both men slink offstage to lick wounds and nurse wounded pride.
