Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY Published 11:19 a.m. ET Aug. 26, 2019 | Updated 4:56 p.m. ET Aug. 26, 2019
Warning: This article contains sensitive content
There’s no subject too sacred for Dave Chappelle.
The 46-year-old begins his new stand-up special “Sticks & Stones” with a joke about Anthony Bourdain’s death by suicide, and he doesn’t stop there.
Bourdain is the first of many figures that Chappelle takes aim at in his first special in two years, which is out now. It was filmed in Atlanta and tackles hot-button issues including gun violence, abortion and the opioid crisis.
He addressed the accusations against Michael Jackson, who was the subject of the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland” earlier this year, which resurfaced claims of childhood sexual abuse by accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck.
Chappelle didn’t mince words, saying, “I’m going to say something I’m not allowed to say, but I gotta be real: I don’t believe these (expletives).”