Tech billionaire Elon Musk was met with boos from an audience when he appeared onstage at Dave Chappelle’s comedy show on Sunday evening in San Francisco. The comedian brought the Twitter and Tesla CEO out on the stage at a special Punchline Comedy Club event at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
“Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for the richest man in the world,” Chappelle announced, according to tweets from users who said they attended the show. A number of audience members cheered, however, there was a loud chorus of boos, as well.
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“You weren’t expecting this, were you?” Musk said to Chappelle following the boos. Chappelle said it sounds like some of those people Musk fired are in the audience. Both men on the stage appeared to be genuinely taken aback by the reception from the crowd of 18,000.
Who is Dave Chappelle?
Dave Chappelle is a renowned American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer, who has received five Emmy Awards and three Grammy Awards as well as the Mark Twain Prize. In 2017, Rolling Stone ranked him No. 9 in their “50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time”. Chappelle is widely known for his satirical comedy sketch series Chappelle’s Show and has also been a part of several movies.
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He was born on August 24, 1973, in Washington DC. His father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor of vocal performance and the dean of students at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. His mother, Yvonne Seon, is a Unitarian Universalist Minister. She also served as a professor and university administrator at many institutions including Wright State University and Prince George’s Community College.
He started performing stand-up comedy in the Washington area at age 14, and, after graduating from the distinguished Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington in 1991, Chapelle moved to New York City to pursue comedy full-time.
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Chappelle married Elaine Mendoza Erfe in 2001. The couple have two sons, Sulayman and Ibrahim, and one daughter, Sanaa. He converted to Islam in 1991.
Chappelle received his first Emmy Award in 2017 for his guest appearance on Saturday Night Live.
In 2018, he received a Grammy Award for his Netflix-produced comedy album The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas.
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In 2019, Chappelle was selected to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which is presented by the Kennedy Center as America’s highest comedy honour.
In 2020, Sticks & Stones earned Chappelle his third consecutive Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
The album, while it won Chapelle a Grammy, also drew criticism for his views on transgender people.
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Following Sticks & Stones, Chapelle had another special come out on Netflix, The Closer in 2021, which again struck the same chord with his fans and critics.
The views on Chappelle’s The Closer remain divisive, which plays to Chappelle’s brand that is built on courting outrage.
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Chappelle’s special has been criticized by organizations such as GLAAD and The National Black Justice Coalition, as well as Netflix’s own employees, including Jaclyn Moore, an executive producer on Netflix’s popular Dear White People.