Dave Chappelle Calls Out ‘Fake Woketivists’: This ‘Cancel Culture Sh*t Bothers Me’

“Cancel culture shit bothers me,” comedian Dave Chappelle said of silencing campaigns pushed by what he called “fake woketivists” to censor their opposition.

Chappelle expressed sympathy with the ideology of “woke” people — whom he described as combatting “racism” and “phobias” — while questioning their “tactics.”

“It’s funny that this genre is under attack because to me, this is the everything-is-gonna-be-okay genre,” Chappelle said of left-wing critiques of comedy, during an interview with Joe Rogan.

Chappelle said some comedians dropped out of comedy due to fears of “cancel culture.”

“I know guys, and they’re famous enough, but they struggle with this thing,” the stand up legend said. “They stop coming around, and I miss their presence and their voices, and a lot of these young comedians — this process [comedic] refinement is gone —  because they don’t have these guys to look to.”

Chappelle previously criticized left-wing critics of comedy seeking to “cancel” comedians. In 2019, he described such audiences as “the worst motherfuckers I’ve ever tried to entertain in my fucking life.”

Rogan characterized “cancel culture” as “recreational outrage.”

“[Comedy] is under attack because people have this ability to complain about things, now, and then people pile on. It’s a new thing, and they realize it’s very useful. It’s a good weapon, and if you choose targets, you could take targets out. You can go after them,” Rogan said.

“It becomes a hobby, like if you see a window and you got a rock, you feel like throwing that rock, and so a lot of times, these targets aren’t justified, but you can find a justification,” he continued. Leftists engaging in “recreational outrage,” Rogan said, and they frame their targets as “ableist,” “homophobic,” and “transphobic.”

Chappelle said “fake woketivists” do not provide meaningful public service, saying “[I respect] people who do actual public service, not these fake woketivists, but the woman that works at the shelter for the abused women and helps women get out of relationships that are abusive.

Chappelle added, “You’re not gonna nag people into behaving in a way that’s — in fact, if you continue with this tone, even if you’re right, you’ll be very hard to hear.”