Dave Chappelle Drops New Special on the ‘Netflix Is a Joke’ YouTube Channel, ‘8:46’ Addresses Death of George Floyd
Earlier this morning, Dave Chappelle surprised fans with a new special titled “8:46.” The special, which premiered on the “Netflix Is a Joke” YouTubeChannel, addresses the tragic passing of George Floyd at the hands of police enforcement in May. According to Deadline, the special was filmed on June 6 in Beavercreek, Ohio.
In the special, Chappelle discusses the brutality of Floyd’s killing. “When I watched that tape, I understood this man knew he was going to die. People watched it. People filmed it. And for some reason that I still don’t understand, all these f—ing police had their hands in their pockets,” Chappelle said.
“Who are you talking to? What are you signifying? That you can kneel on a man’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds and feel like you wouldn’t get the wrath of God? That is what is happening right now. It’s not for a single cop. It’s for all of it. F— all of it. I don’t mean to get heavy but we gotta say something.”
The special is the latest in Netflix’s efforts to bring awareness to the issue of police brutality and systemic racism. Earlier this week, the streaming giant launched the Black Lives Matter collection on the platform, where U.S. viewers can watch movies, documentaries and TV series, including Michelle Obama’s “Becoming,” “When They See Us Now,” “Moonlight,” “Dear White People,” and Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” which was released today.
The company has also been pulling racially insensitive content from the platform internationally. The Matt Lucas and David Walliams-helmed sketch show “Little Britain” as well as its follow-up “Come Fly With Me,” were removed from the service for featuring sketches done in blackface.
The streamer also axed four shows from Australian comic Chris Lilley after questions regarding some of the characters in the show came up. The streamer took down “Angry Boys,” “Summer Heights High,” “We Can Be Heroes” and “Jonah From Tonga” from its Australian and New Zealand libraries because the comic used blackface to portray some of his characters.