![]() ![]() I want you to crack up and nod your head and murmur, “Yes!” even if you’ve never been through what I’m describing. ![]() I’m stuck because I’m trying to find that triad of laughter, connection, and compassion. Fuller disclosure: I am currently working on (or stuck on, depending on how full your half-empty glass is) a joke where I say some of these nutso thoughts as examples of my brain turning on me. Not for a joke - that was a real thought. I turn those ornery moments into material.įull disclosure: I honestly thought the office-clothing thing. I’m out here trying to be funny around a lot of young people, and sometimes I get annoyed by their newness, too. But I also understand where it’s coming from. The defensiveness makes him seem crotchety. We’re used to Dave deftly walking us through minefields, with heart and humor. Perhaps that’s why it’s surprising to hear Chappelle today. I’m not closed-minded! I’m hip! Look at the pro-choice bumper stickers on my Honda Prelude! Look at my “STR8 BUT NOT NARROW” T-shirt! But suddenly you hit 44 and you’re told, “Actually, it’s LGBTQIA,” and without thinking, you find yourself rolling your eyes and muttering, “What’s with all the letters? What happened to just ‘gay’?” (Weirdly, the pushback tends to start with the change of verbiage - oh, how we cling to our labels!) This was especially a shock to me because I’ve always (perhaps foolishly) thought of myself on the leading edge of progress. A decision must be made: Am I in the mood to reflect and adjust, or am I going to dig in my heels because it’s what I’ve always known? So when you speak confidently about, say, music or sports or dating based on the way it’s always been and a young person informs you of the way it is now, it can knock you back on your heels. (It also doesn’t only happen to men, Hollywood, but we ain’t got time for that.) It’s realizing that after 30 years of my being the Go-To Voice (and ten years of diminishing returns), the world has stopped listening. Nobody wants to answer your questions they just keep telling you to “do your Googles.” Next thing you know, you’re at a gathering and you say something like, “If you’re not a gender, how will you know what to wear to your office job?” and everyone will think, Whoa, has this clueless old man been here the whole time?Ī mid-life crisis isn’t just buying a ridiculous vehicle, pulling a muscle at the gym, or leaving your wife. He’s going to say what he wants to say, and I’m a comic, so my metric is usually “But was it funny?” It’s just … man, the 40s are such a forgotten age, y’know? There’s a great deal of hoopla about making it to 40, and then once you’re there, it’s like you don’t exist. This is not a defense or endorsement of Chappelle. ![]() I’m no Chappelle, but I am a comedian in my late 40s, and lately I’ve been spending a lot of time muttering to myself, “Now, that’s a messed-up thought, girl.” This highly scientific theory is based on me - my favorite test subject. I tweeted back my theory that Chappelle is probably dealing with an unexpected aspect of middle age: the hardening of your worldview, for better or worse. My friend recently mentioned on Twitter her surprise at Chappelle’s age. ![]() His chest hair is probably only now starting to gray. He’s not even that old - he just turned 46 on August 24. Why does Chappelle seem so out of touch? Yes, he’s wealthy enough to not have to mix it up with the hoi polloi, though I’m sure he’s appreciative of the dollars we fling at him for live performances. Overall, he comes off as a very rich old man yelling at today’s kids to get off his expansive lawn. He’s proud of his trans jokes, dismissive of cancel culture, and defensive of celebrity status. Dave Chappelle - whom you may know as the Half Baked dude or the “Rick James” bitch or the creator of some of the best comedy on the planet - is back, and he’s still poking at anthills with his edgy … joke … stick? My point is, Chappelle has a new special, Sticks & Stones, and the reviews have been a resounding “meh.” In it, he trods familiar, edgy territory, but he’s more defiant about it this time. Photo: Mathieu Bitton/Netflixĭave’s back, y’all. ![]()
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