MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Dave Chappelle says he is very clear about his role as a comedian.
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DAVE CHAPPELLE: We're like a nation's kidney. We help everyone metabolize not just facts but feelings around facts or ideas. And jokes are just a shorthand for all of that.
KELLY: But what's it like to do comedy at a time when U.S. politics feels so polarized? Chappelle shared his thoughts recently on NPR's Newsmakers video podcast. He spoke about it with Morning Edition host Michel Martin.
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MICHEL MARTIN: We are in a moment where the president of the United States expresses things that many people find deeply offensive, and I'm just wondering, does that change your work? You know what I'm saying?
CHAPPELLE: No. And he's a bad example because he has a dismissive shorthand about people. Like, a comedian, if we're up there talking, it's a way different type of interface than, say, being president of the United States because...
MARTIN: Oh, it's a totally different job. I credit that. But I'm saying...
CHAPPELLE: No. But I'm saying - I'm talking about not just...
MARTIN: ... I just want to know...
CHAPPELLE: ...The job, the actual interface, how we...
MARTIN: I just...
CHAPPELLE: ...Actually are communicating to people.
MARTIN: Well, say more.
CHAPPELLE: Well, the presidency is the presidency. Like, you know, if you vote for the person or not, that's your president. This is an authority figure. This is the executor of all of America's affairs. And I just have to move my crowd. You know, you can opt out of my crap. But you shouldn't have to leave America because the president's making the block too hot for you. And I did resent that the Republican Party ran on transgender jokes, you know? I felt like they were doing a weaponized version of what I was doing. I didn't - that's not what I was doing. I'll give you an example.
MARTIN: Yeah.
CHAPPELLE: It was before I learned the phrase, I respectfully decline. And I was on Capitol Hill, and everybody ran up to take pictures with me from every congressional office. And I just take pictures with whoever asked. I didn't ask how they voted or what their voting record is. And everyone, at first, it was like, CBC people. And then here comes Lauren Boebert, and she said, can I get a picture? And I'd already taken 40 pictures. I didn't want to say no in front of everybody. But I didn't know the phrase, I respectfully decline. So I just took the picture. And then she posted a picture, before I could even get from there to the show, and says something to the effect of, just two people that knew that it's just two genders. She instantly, like, weaponized it or politicized it. So I got to the arena, and I lit her ass up for doing that. And she should never do that with a person like me. But now she knows.
KELLY: Comedian Dave Chappelle speaking with NPR's Michel Martin for our Newsmakers video podcast. You can see the full interview - it is worth it - on NPR's YouTube page. Just visit youtube.com/npr.
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