John Q Regular

At Qüne, we laughed till we cried over Chappelle skits depicting a black ‘white supremacist’ and Rick ‘I’m Rich Bitch’ James, but we’ve never understood laughing at slavery. In all honesty, we felt his Roots skit was quite irreverent. Okay, to be really honest -- we thought it was dreadfully irreverent.

 But with a James Lipton (Inside the Actors Studio) and an Oprah interview under his belt, mega-comedian Dave Chappelle has been working the talk television circuit in an effort to restore his image in the last several weeks.

 We’ve watched (more like studied) both interviews. Expecting the typical ‘Give me back my Comedy Central show’ monologue with some touches of whiny ‘I needed some time off, because my mother doesn't love me,’ we were intensely surprised to see something different--  like….GROWTH. In each interview, Dave Chappelle revealed to us the average joe. He is, essentially, one of ‘us’, who through his passion for comedy (and weed) became famous beyond his wildest dreams.

Contrary to the mantra of the American dream machine, most “everyday people” will remain anonymous; not because they lack extraordinary talent or work ethic, but because of their unwillingness to compromise their integrity. Which is exactly why David Chapelle was able to walk away from a 50 million dollar contract.

 In his ordinary way, Chappelle exposed in each interview his disgust for the dire creative direction of the show. In one segment, he even mentioned a typical skit involving race that got a not-so-pleasant laugh from a crew member which made him feel raw, as if he had let down many people. Consequently, while starring down a lucrative contract offer, he had the audacity (and courage) to reflect, find his job uninspired, and walk off the set to hold himself accountable.

 Funny, us normal folk call that being contemplative. Hollywood calls it being on ‘crack.’

Read more from the Washington Post  here.