Dave Chappelle Stumps for Maryland Dem Governor Candidate Ben Jealous

Veteran comedian Dave Chappelle campaigned for former NAACP president Ben Jealous on Friday, a rare political gesture for the longtime actor.

“So you know, I’m out of my element,” Chappelle said at an event at Olde Towne Inn in Largo, Maryland, NPR reports. “You know politics has never been my thing.”

“I think as a leader, as an organizer … this man is excellent. I wouldn’t lie to you; I’d stake my whole reputation on it,” Chappelle told the audience at the event in suburban Washington.

Jealous, who announced his bid for governor last May, currently holds a narrow lead over a crowded Democratic field looking to take on popular Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in November.

Chappelle — who famously walked away from a $50 million deal with Comedy Central in 2005 — credits Jealous, calling him his “God brother,” with providing the uplifting words he needed to hear to get through that trying time.

“I really attribute it to being here now,” Chappelle said of Jealous and of civil rights activist Dick Gregory who he says he received “the best pep talk from the two of them that I’ve ever gotten in my life.”

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson