Chappelle says: I'm not crazy
Comedian tells Time: 'I'm not in a mental facility'
The Associated Press
Originally published May 15, 2005, 10:29 AM EDT

NEW YORK -- Comedian Dave Chappelle wants to set things straight: "I'm not crazy, I'm not smoking crack," he tells Time magazine in an interview after his hit Comedy Central show was suspended and the rumors started to fly.

"I'm definitely stressed out," said Chappelle, who took off last month to South Africa for a "spiritual retreat," leaving his fans, and even his agent and publicist, wondering where he went.

"You hear so many voices jockeying for position in your mind that you want to make sure that you hear your own voice," he said. "So I figured, let me just cut myself off from everybody, take a minute and pull a Flintstone -- stop a speeding car by using my bare feet as the brakes."

After Comedy Central announced that the planned May 31 debut of the third season of "Chappelle's Show" had been postponed, the magazine Entertainment Weekly reported that Chappelle had checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa.

"I'm not in a mental facility," said Chappelle, who also said he did not have a drug problem but had consulted a psychiatrist for one 40-minute visit.

The 31-year-old comedian said he fled to stay with friends in Durban because he was not happy with the direction of the show, which is behind only "South Park" as Comedy Central's most-watched program.

"There's a lot of resistance to my opinions, so I decided, 'Let me remove myself from this situation,'" Chappelle said.

Comedy Central president Doug Herzog told Time that the star has "complete creative freedom." He has told staff he believes there will not be a "Chappelle's Show" in 2005, but leaves the option open for the comedian's return.


Chappelle, whose wife and two children live in Ohio, said he hopes to start up the show again, but did not indicate when he would return.

Comedy Central had inked a reported $50 million deal to keep "Chappelle's Show" for two more seasons, and the comedian hinted to Time about struggles associated with the power and fame that come with that kind of success.

"If you don't have the right people around you, and you're moving at a million miles an hour, you can lose yourself," he said. "Everyone around me says, 'You're a genius, you're great, that's your voice,' but I'm not sure that they're right."


Copyright © 2005, The Associated Press



get your life back on track Dave....but damn...2 seasons?

meltwithu said:

I still trying to process this one org.

i pretty much thought this was the case. i'm glad Dave isn't forcing it. Shit, you see how long it takes for David Chase to write and film episodes for a season of The Sopranos. Quality takes time.

sinisterpentatonic said:

Perhaps, you're right. Let's face it. Aside from the crackhead character, he has come up with some creative skits like the Prince, the notorious Rick James, and R-Kelly skit.

If Comedy Central is trying to screw him around like he says they are then I say brotha stick to your guns. Don't sell out and continue to do the show that you want to do. Fuck Being . That's probably what their trying to do to his ass. Make him sugar coat the show and everything is .
Hang In There Dave!!!
[Edited 5/15/05 9:31am]

i just hope he's really okay and doesn't pull a whitney houston--deny your demons exist until it's almost too late to battle them. This makes me respect more the comedic genius of Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock...these guys were on top, fell off a notch or two somewhere along the way, yet found their way again, eventually.

meltwithu said:

We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out for my boy. I certainly hope that he's not faking the funk and what he's saying is legit.

Hotlegs said:

i dunno...if they ain't censoring South Park too much, I can't imagine them putting too much restraint on Dave. They may just probably wanted him to keep his content from going too far left of center that it would alienate a large portion of the viewers, black and white. It is still all about ratings and $$$$ (50 mil,to be exact), and if they're battling over creative control, maybe he should save that for his stand-up gig, where he can say whatever he wants.

quick announcement: the next person who posts stuff about dave chappelle in the non-prince forum is gettin no pie for dessert and gettin put to bed early. this is like the 4th or 5th thread that i've seen over there in the past week or so. even though dave did the rick james and prince skits, he's got nothing to do with music so please refrain from posting stuff like this in the non-prince forum. kthx.

anyways, glad to hear that the boy ain't went crazy after all and is taking a bit of a breather. hopefully he'll be back on the ball soon enough.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I'm glad he spoke on this and dispelled the rumors from the media. Even if he were in a facility, he would still have my love and support. Much love to Dave.

meltwithu said:

Perhaps it's time to curtail the chronic usage?

meltwithu said:

With a network that airs shows like South Park and has characters like , I don't think now that Dave problem is about being . Perhaps, its something else going on that we don't know about. I just hope that its not too serious and its a repeat of some Whitney Houston or Martin Lawerence shit.

Hotlegs said:

I'm glad he's not forcing it, but it's hard to be too sympathetic. He did sign a multi-million dollar contract promising to deliver material at a specific point. So, he ALREADY sold out. He should have put the Flintstone brakes on BEFORE he committed himself to the network, not a month before the show is supposed to air.

madartista said:

I hear ya, but for 50 million dollars, i'd be promising all kind of shit i couldn't deliever on!

sinisterpentatonic said:

And maybe that was Dave's approach as well.

TheOrgerFormerlyKnownAs said:

definitely.

Ace said: