May 1, 2018

"I don’t know who those people are that she can’t say that to them... I gotta respect the artistry. I gotta respect the gangsta."

Dave Chappelle on Michelle Wolf:
I really respected what I saw. I don’t know who those people are that she—she can’t say that to them, ’cause they offend people all the time. And I think that for many people, not everybody who watched it, but for many people, it’s cathartic to watch that woman speak truth to power like that. And whether they understand it or not, there was an enormous amount of levity in what she did. But it was very flat-footed and it was grounded in her truth, and whether I agree with it or not, I gotta respect the artistry. I gotta respect the gangsta. I know how hard it is to do what she did in front of that lame-ass crowd. And she—I think she nailed it. I thought it was beautiful. And I—I didn’t see her pander once and I thought that was beautiful.

81 comments:

wendybar said...

She has the right to say what she wants, and we have the right to say she is an offensive ass. I thought Democrats went higher?? I have yet to see that.

n.n said...

Gangstas, especially from Mexico and nations south of their border, are a progressive risk to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in America.

traditionalguy said...

Chappelle nailed it. She put on a tongue in cheek imitation of the MSM's nastyness right in their faces. The Trump people say hell yes, she said the crap we have to face from the MSM all the time. The Dems say OMG that exposed us for the slime creatures that we are.

Rob said...

She may have told truth to power, but she wasn’t funny. For a comedian doing what’s supposed to be a comedy routine, that’s manifestly not nailing it.

wendybar said...

And that voice....enough to make you cringe....

MayBee said...

I agree with him in many ways.

The problem isn't her. The problem is the WHCD. And the press getting shown as the one-sided hate-mongers they are.
She's watched other WHCD, and she's followed what the press and entertainers say about this administration, and this is what she assumed they wanted. And she was right! But in the moment, seeing who they are embarrassed them.

Big Mike said...

But did she really speak TRUTH to power?

Chris said...

Fun! Now do Obama. Bravery would have been her treating Obama that way.

traditionalguy said...

She played King Press's fool.She insulted them to their face by imitating their filthy slander of good people. And that is funny. Brilliantly funny,

holdfast said...

Blaming Michelle Wolf is like blaming a bear for shitting in the woods, or blaming a dog for shedding on the rug. She's just a dumb creature with known habits.

Nope, the blame is with the folks who hired her. It's all on them, and hopefully they will lose their stupid little "nerd prom" over it.

n.n said...

The Dems say OMG that exposed us for the slime creatures that we are.

seeing who they are embarrassed them

That would explain their apoplectic and forward response.

Meade said...

Trad guy nails the nailer who nailed the nailing of the nail.

Darrell said...

Oh well, Dave Chappelle liked it. It's settled, then.

Birches said...

Agree with Maybee. Absolutely.

wwww said...


Agree with Chappelle.

Vet66 said...

It's a sign of an inferior intellect resorting to vulgarity and ad hominem attacks to make a point. It's also indicative of the liberal mindset that any disagreement to their boilerplate talking points is an existential threat to their precarious hold on reality. They avoid any discussion that disagrees with their worldview by lashing out at the bearer of bad news' which is a fallacy of reason.

Rory said...

The gangsta works for a corporation that grossed $13 billion last year.

Renee said...

I agree with Maybee, she studied and she gave what the hosts wanted.

I wouldn't define her act as a 'roast' though, just insult comedy. Roasts are for people who like, and the person being roasted can give it back.

I saw no truth in it, and maybe that's why it wasn't funny to me.

rhhardin said...

I wasn't offended. I was bored.

The Jake Tapper orgasm joke was good. Mocking the news-reader voice.

traditionalguy said...

Meade nailed it. She shot a possible while looking into a mirror...like Little Sure Shot, Annie Oakley.

The Godfather said...

Don’t pay attention to Michelle Wolf, who you never heard of before and will probably never hear of again after this week. Pay attention to the audience, and remember this event the next time you see or read some “news person” tell you what Trump or some other Republican has done wrong, and ask yourself, Why should I believe this?

Hagar said...

Maybee says it best.

Ann Althouse said...

"And that voice...."

It's the same voice used by Roseanne Barr.

William said...

One of Snoop Dog's producers who has ties to the Crips recently said that the Crips should "fuck up" Kanye because of the things he's been saying about Trump. Does Chappelle approve of this? Does he think Kanye has a first amendment right to speak his mind about Trump without receiving physical threats. Willl Chappelle condemn Snoop Dog, his producer, or the Crips? Questions that are never asked and never answered.

rehajm said...

Truth to power is such a meaningless statement at this point, recited when there's nothing left of your argument.

Roughcoat said...

It's May Day, comrades! Let's all link arms and sing "The International"!

Roughcoat said...

Time to retire the phrase "truth to power."

rehajm said...

Remember when that Obama cabinet member said the administration was speaking truth to power? You were speaking on behalf of the most powerful office in the world for fuck's sake.

William said...

There should be a "Truth to power" bullshit tag. I recently saw the movie "The Post". That movie celebrated the courage of Katherine Graham and Ben Bradlee in taking on the Nixon administration. What was their brave act? They revealed all the lies that were told about Vietnam during the JFK and LBJ administrations........Was there ever anyone more opposed to speaking truth to power than Ben Bradlee in his relations with JFK? Why yes, there was. That would be Meryl Streep in her long, productive friendship with Harvey Weinstein.

exhelodrvr1 said...

He's correct, but he problem is that this viewpoint is taken to Republican politicians and their constituents to a greatly more significant degree than to Democratic politicians and their constituents.

Henry said...

lame-ass crowd is my takeaway.

Jupiter said...

Wait 'til he finds out she isn't black.

Michael K said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said...
"And that voice...."

It's the same voice used by Roseanne Barr.


Since I do not listen to either of them, except a few clips of that "comedy" routine, it may be true.

The voice reminded me of Fanny Brice and her "Baby Snooks" radio program.

Except she was beautiful and funny. Not like Wolf. And what's with the tan ?

wendybar said...

Blogger Ann Althouse said...
"And that voice...."

It's the same voice used by Roseanne Barr.

So Wolf is a copycat?? At least Roseanne is funny!

Daniel Jackson said...

"it’s cathartic to watch that woman speak truth to power like that"

No. It's a purgative. Usually, people put their assholes over toilets; but the liberals have this thing about urination and defecation.

In the words of Ice Tea overheard remarking about Snoop Dog one day on the A Train: "This is a question of EGO--Easing God Out."

Amadeus 48 said...

I can't imagine why the Crips would have a political preference. I guess the gangstas are just establishment after all. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) has a reputation for using the gangs to turn out the vote.

What is the world coming to?

MikeR said...

Heh. A lot of the commenters are against the phrase "truth to power". I'm not. But it didn't apply here. Kanye West was speaking truth to power; he was sticking his neck out and it was dangerous and courageous. Not so much when a comedian attacks Donald Trump in front of a lot of liberals.

Doug said...

Dave Chappelle and Michelle Wolf - now they are ...?

Scott said...

So verbally kicking the shit out of Sarah Huckabee Sanders with a barrage of ad hominem attacks is "speaking truth to power" and "artistry."

If so, comedy is fucked. And Dave Chappelle is speaking garbage to the gullible.

Larry J said...

The fact that she was selected to perform at the Nerd Prom exposes what they really believe but want to hide behind claims of objectivity. She said out loud and on television what they say to one another behind closed doors or at their favorite watering holes.

Christopher said...

This is not speaking truth to power. This was feces throwing while getting cheered by a Greek chorus.

Sebastian said...

Levity. Truth to power. Gangsta. OK.

But regardless of whether she intended it as a tongue-in-cheek version of This Is Who We Are, as tradguy and Meade suggest, it usefully exposes the prog correspondents. This Is Who They Are. Contrary to Wolf, it is a good slogan.

Temujin said...

This is all horse pucks. I think Chappelle is one of the more original and funny comedians of his generation. But because he's a very creative and funny guy, it does not make his judgement of things the gold standard. There is a decency long missing in today's society. We praise crap just for being crappy. The crappier it is, the more we share it. And when it's really crappy, we call it edgy. Ooohh...that's edgy. Bullshit. That's crap. And when it's way over the top, ceasing to be funny and becoming just plain mean, and we can no longer discern between humor and crap, we're in a bad place. This was crap. I read the transcript first and thought it was just classless. There's a lot of classlessness in our world now. Da yoots know nothing about class (they think class is buying 1200 thread count sheets). But after reading the transcripts, I watched the video of her performance. It was even worse than I thought. Cringeworthy- and not because of her insults. It was because she's so bad at comedy. #1: She's not funny. #2: She has a HORRIBLE delivery. #3: She tops it off with a hard-to-listen to voice. There is no there, there. Why is this person even on the dais? (this is why I quit watching SNL years ago. The standard for talent and funny got so low, you only had to talk about genitals or Republicans to get on. I know- some would say they're the same thing).

The other piece of this that needs to go away is the fucking phrase 'Speaking Truth to Power'. It's bullshit. It's been bullshit since the 60's. I was there and knew it was bullshit then. Even more so now, when people making $100s of thousands of dollars get full page coverage to spill out insults at Republicans who will be the most polite people in any room they are standing in. Seriously? Attacking Mike Pence? Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Two real evil people, huh? Tortured thinking when Ms. Wolf is the victim and Mike Pence is the evil one because he follows his faith. And you really have to go way out on a limb to even think of calling Wolf's regurgitations "Truth to Power". THAT's the funniest thing said about this whole thing. There was no truth. No power. And no funny. But we did get to see the press swimming around in their own shit.

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

I'm confused, are we 100% sure he's talking about the press and not the Trump admin attendees? I'd like to know more about the context of this statement.

Yancey Ward said...

Telling truth to power requires an act of courage. I am unconvinced that describes Wolf's routine at the WHCD dinner. Doing this act when Obama was president where he and his staff were the targets would have been an act of courage for this particular event.

William said...

Michelle bravely asserts that her comedy was not done to entertain the people who hired her or the "lame ass" audience that she was performing before. She apparently was performing before some different, better audience of her imagination. There's no business like show business.

wwww said...

"I'm confused, are we 100% sure he's talking about the press and not the Trump admin attendees?"


He's talking about everyone in that room.

She did not pander. The press, the administration, the people all-dressed-up ready to hear a comic approve of them and act buddy-buddy. She didn't come to make friends. She burned CNN, she burned Trump admin, she burned Hillary. She carried in a note from her friend that said "burn it all down."

CNN "The news. You broke it. You broke it."

"You should have done more research before you got me to do this."

Robert Cook said...

Right on, Dave!

Ray - SoCal said...

Truth to power quotes like this are just show the hypocrisy of the left and virtue signaling.

Contrast how the rodeo clown that made fun of Obama (along with all presidents from Reagan) was blackballed and had over a 75% drop in income.

http://dailyheadlines.net/exclusive-interview-with-tuffy-gessling-life-after-the-obama-mask/

Robert Cook said...

"The voice reminded me of Fanny Brice and her 'Baby Snooks' radio program.

"Except she was beautiful and funny."


Didn't Fanny Brice famously look like Barbra Streisand?

Seeing Red said...

She told truth to that power and they didn’t like it.


They chose the form of their destructor.

Robert Cook said...

"This is not speaking truth to power. This was feces throwing while getting cheered by a Greek chorus."

I don't think everyone in attendance was cheering her, from what I've read (I haven't looked at any of the videos).

But...is there any more satisfying speech to power than flinging shit into the faces and onto the expensive clothes of those who wield power? I wish someone had done the same to Obama, (and I think Colbert was a hero for his appearance when Bush was in attendance; he took down the Washington Press corps, too, to their distaste...ha!).

mccullough said...

My only quibble with Chappelle or any of them is they want to put “comedian” in a category.

Trump is the ultimate comedian. He is funny. Given that he is the president, his musings, jokes, and out down are even funnier.

It was humor that helped with North Korea. It was humor that helped get him elected.

Michelle Wolf is not as funny as Donald Trump. None of them are. And he’s more vulgar than they are. Trump put political comedy out of business. You can’t watch these folks. They are behind the curve. They are scratching their heads. They always thought if themselves as edgy. They aren’t. They are outdated.

mccullough said...

Consider that Trump won the election by speaking Truth to Power. He eviscerated the GOP and Dems.

He went after the last four presidents. He went after the previous two GOP nominees. He ripped Rand Paul, Rubio, Cruz all of them. There was not one sacred cow left in the GOP other than Reagan that Trump did not shred.

Trump is the Original Gangsta. Just ask James Comey.

James K said...

I don't think everyone in attendance was cheering her, from what I've read (I haven't looked at any of the videos).

Any discomfort in the audience was not with what Wolf was saying, but because it might backfire and help Trump.

Michael K said...


"The voice reminded me of Fanny Brice and her 'Baby Snooks' radio program.

"Except she was beautiful and funny."

Didn't Fanny Brice famously look like Barbra Streisand?


You mean was she Jewish ? Is that what you mean, Cookie ?

Yes she was but when she was young, about that "comedienne's" age, she was a Ziegfield girl.

FullMoon said...

I don't think everyone in attendance was cheering her, from what I've read (I haven't looked at any of the videos).

Followed a link to a newspaper video clip. Wolf tells a joke, cut to partial audience laughing. Another joke, cut to audience laughing.
Repeat four or five times. The audience laughing in between each joke was the same scene each time, edited in to look like everyone was having a great time.

William said...

Suppose you hire a wedding singer, and the wedding singer decides that his conscience demands that instead of the usual treacle, he sings a selection from The Threepenny Opera and Marianne Faithful about how sordid and ephemeral romance truly is. The wedding partners are more interested in fucking than in selfless love, and who really thinks love lasts......Does a wedding singer owe a higher obligation to his artistic conscience than to the people who hired him and to the people he was hired to entertain. What differentiates a wedding singer from a comedian? Since when did comedians replace pastors as our moral guides?

Michael K said...

Cookie, why don't you look at Fanny Broce's pictures before you comment on her looks ?

Streisand did a movie called, "Funny Girl" and a Broadway musical based on her life. There were also a couple of other movies.

Maybe that is what you were thinking of. Alice Faye also portrayed her in a movie.

Michael K said...

Fanny Brice's...

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It's a lame-ass comedian who blames the lame-ass crowd.

Gahrie said...

But...is there any more satisfying speech to power than flinging shit into the faces and onto the expensive clothes of those who wield power

I'm sure Washington D.C. was satisfied in 2012....who's laughing now?

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Funny how that "truth to power" bullshit only shows up sometimes, huh?

Guy wears a Obama mask while working as a rodeo clown and he's fired immediately. I don't remember the entertainer brigade helping him out.

Guy mocks Michelle Obama's looks and gets fired. No mercy for that sexist loser; off with his head!

But now we're back in "truth to power, can't you take a joke, it's refreshing when we take government officials down a peg or two" territory again.

Just weird how that changes on a nearly-predictable cycle, huh? What could possibly explain it?

Howard said...

Trump blowed up the Overton Window. The pearl clutching from conservatives is precious. There were laughs, but most were uncomfortable and few and far between. That said, she was out of line, over the top and completely inappropriate. That's what she was going for. Like an extreem version of Ricky Gervais at the Golden Glubs

FullMoon said...

Finally watched the whole thing. Not as bad as I expected. Not hilarious, had some moments.
Ricky Gervais has a Netflix where he mimics kicking a dead baby,then he gets offensive. etc. Actually pretty funny.

Robert Cook said...

"Cookie, why don't you look at Fanny Broce's pictures before you comment on her looks ?

"Streisand did a movie called, "Funny Girl" and a Broadway musical based on her life. There were also a couple of other movies.

"Maybe that is what you were thinking of. Alice Faye also portrayed her in a movie."


Michael K...

All that and you didn't realize I was making a joke?

Robert Cook said...

The joke being that today, no one remembers Fanny Brice and know her only through Streisand's portrayal of her...which many might assume to be about a fictional character.

Drago said...

Howard: "Trump blowed up the Overton Window. The pearl clutching from conservatives is precious. There were laughs, but most were uncomfortable and few and far between. That said, she was out of line, over the top and completely inappropriate. That's what she was going for. Like an extreem version of Ricky Gervais at the Golden Glubs"

Don't really disagree with any of this.

I think the only legitimate complaint I saw was that in lieu of Trump not being there and speaking and dishing something back, one of his staffers who did attend or any republican in a position of responsibility could have been asked to provide comments at the end.

Instead, it was all one-way, massively, with no attempt to allow for balance by allowing a republican to speak.

The comedienne was clearly a known quantity and she delivered the no-humor personal attacks on the republicans who were forced to either sit there and take it with no ability to give any back or walk out and be accused of not being able to take what no democrat ever had to take.

Again, this is precisely what the WHCD leadership wanted, planned for, created and delivered. Then acted surprised when the pushback and feedback from "normal" Americans came flooding in.

Not exactly covering themselves in courageous glory at the WHCD leadership, are they?

Michael K said...

"All that and you didn't realize I was making a joke?"

Since most of your comments are jokes, Cookie, it can be hard to tell.

Fanny Brice was a huge talent. The "Comedienne" is not.

Michael K said...

"The pearl clutching from conservatives is precious."

Hey, Howard, if someone is making TV spots from this for the fall campaign, I'd be willing to chip in a few bucks.

People with no sense of humor have a hard time with jokes.

jacksonjay said...

That dickhead Mitch does need a circumcision. That was pretty funny and truthful!

Clyde said...

My response to the Dave Chappelles and the Michelle Wolfs of the world is both profane and probably anatomically impossible. And the horse they rode in on!

iowan2 said...

Remember when a rodeo clown got fired for clowning? yeh, didn't think so. How about drunk fans at a Wisconsin Football game? Down the memory hole already?

Without double standards the left is without.

mikee said...

Chapelle has become more and more interesting as time goes on.
Now that it looks like he won't be killing himself with drugs, that is.
I look forward to his next decades of work.

mikee said...

And they call themselves --- THE ARISTOCRATS!

The Godfather said...

So wait a minute! If Trump is literally Hitler, why isn't Michelle Wolf in a concentration camp? Along with all the newsies who invited her to speak to their group? Do you really think that the real Hitler let people get away with stuff like this?

What great courage these folks display! (I said "folks" because I can't spell a*sh*les)

Howard said...

Mike K: Thats a good idea, play the outrage card to the weak punters... right out of the Democrat playbook. Cut in soundbites of Nancy P and Hillary R cackling and you can't miss

Howard said...

Drago: I didn't think she was funny and I don't think Chapelle did either. He was givering her props for going postal. I did like the "only pussy you can't grab" line.

I agree with you and the Doc, it was an unforced error by the Dems... and with the Nork Love Train leaving the station, made Don look even more like a Presidential Statesman.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

And I agree.

Nothing worse than the monstrously offensive going on about how easily offended they are.

She knew what she was doing and she's funny. The emperor has no clothes.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Heh. A lot of the commenters are against the phrase "truth to power". I'm not. But it didn't apply here. Kanye West was speaking truth to power; he was sticking his neck out and it was dangerous and courageous. Not so much when a comedian attacks Donald Trump in front of a lot of liberals.

Why... because his threats to curtail and prosecute free speech are feckless? Geez, well why didn't you tell us sooner? Maybe his actions on N. Korea and on the international stage generally will be feckless, too. It's better we find out sooner than later.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

It's a sign of an inferior intellect resorting to vulgarity and ad hominem attacks to make a point.

Humor that's not ad hominem? Ladies and Gentlemen, I do believe the reason that conservatives fail in entertainment was stated just there. They make their politics ad hominem and their comedy one big nice safe-space. Talk about back-assward.