Comedian Dave Chappelle in Mental Health Facility

[MacNut]

Comedian Dave Chappelle has checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa and has remained there since late April, according to a source close to the situation.

The same source denies rumors of drug abuse. Other sources have also told EW that the future of Chappelle's Show — the hit Comedy Central series that was entering its third season — is more uncertain than the network has suggested.

Comedy Central last week made a hasty announcement that the show's third season, already delayed from its planned February start, had been postponed again. The network said it remained ''optimistic'' that production could resume. The highly rated sketch series has been a huge moneymaker for Viacom, which owns Comedy Central. Its second season is about to be released on DVD, on the heels of first-season sales that made it the top-selling television DVD in history.

Thanks in large part to the DVD sales, Chappelle last year netted a $50 million deal for co-writing and starring in the show. Sketches to fill about four episodes in the third season have been taped, but Chappelle's interstitial material with live audiences has not. The fate of the sketches has not been determined.

[SFVCyclone]

NOT a good thing for all the people who love that show.

[saabmp3]

Why south africa?

Is this fishy to anybody else?

BEN

[rockthecasbah]

Yeah I saw this on the news, I really don't get it. South Africa? Mental Hospital? WTF did he have like a mental breakdown and started killin' people???? His spokespeople aren't talking either...how queer.

[obeygiant]

i dont think the guy really wanted to do the show.
I know this sounds retarded, but i think he asked the network
for an absurd amount of money (50 MIllion) that he didnt think they
would pay, cuz he didnt want to do the show. And when they actually
said YES and paid it, he started having a breakdown. He might need
a break to get some new material or somthing. Believe or not
some people are actually AFRAID of success and are content
being small. Of course i dont know for sure with DC.

[Mr. Durden]

Wow. I always said that man was CRAZY! :D

[dotdotdot]

HOLY S***! I LOVE Chappell's show!

"I'm Samuel L. Jackson! Drink My Beer!"

Whats wrong with him? Mental breakdown - doubt it... anyone who watches Chappell's show most likely would think he just went crazy, like drugs and hurting people...

[atakordie]

good. I thought the show was not funny, and was pushing a point of view that I don't like.

[Sol]

I hope he finds the help he needs. The Dave Chappelle we saw on television was a brave artist who knew how to push people's buttons to great effect. If he is no longer willing to work on television then he could always write books or make movies.

[Abstract]

Mental Breakdown? You'd think he unleashed the insanity DURING the show.

He's probably sitting on a chair in S. Africa telling people he's "Rick James, b****."

EDIT: Damn, the filter didn't edit out the word "b*tch." The creative bunch here can guess what letter the asterisk represents.

[scem0]

I have mixed feelings on the show and on Dave Chappelle himself. The show can be funny, but if I hear one more person say "I'm Rick James, bitch!" I'll do something drastic...

I do hope he is okay, though.

scem0

[Sol]

The show can be funny, but if I hear one more person say "I'm Rick James, bitch!" I'll do something drastic...

How come you got to write the full B-word and the guy before you was cencored?

[e²Studios]

HOLY S***! I LOVE Chappell's show!

"I'm Samuel L. Jackson! Drink My Beer!"


I like the one where charlie murphy, his crew, prince and the NPG play ball against on another. My next fave would have to be when John Mayer and Dave do the "music experiment" :p

Ed

[scem0]

How come you got to write the full B-word and the guy before you was cencored?

hmmmm.... I guess it's because I used an exclamation mark. :cool:

scem0

[Abstract]

hmmmm.... I guess it's because I used an exclamation mark. :cool:

scem0


Actually, the word "bitch" wasn't edited out of my post, like I already mentioned. I actually had to edit and put the asterisk(s) in their myself.

Lets wait for a mod and see what happens.... ;)

[Toreador93]

I hope it's gone for good. It can be funny, but I'm sick of seeing the same 5 damn episodes over and over again for months! Put more MadTV on there, or Conan O'Brien!

[D0ct0rteeth]

Man. Thats just plain sad.

I heard the story on NPR this afternoon on the way home from the office.

Mental Hospitals are terrible places, I have some history of mental illness in my family and its an unbelievably scary place to visit, I cant imagine being a patient.

I wish him the best, or in some way I hope that its a PR stunt for season 2 coming out on video.

- Doc

[crazzyeddie]

Noooooooooooo...... Chappelles show is the best! Im still anxiously awaiting season 2 on DVD... money in hand...

[Phat_Pat]

Man i hope hes gettin better.

But could this be a publicity stunt.... i mean his name hasn't really been in the headlines latly......

[MacNut]

Man i hope hes gettin better.

But could this be a publicity stunt.... i mean his name hasn't really been in the headlines latly......Ya he's in there with Andy Kauffman.
:rolleyes:

[Sol]

But could this be a publicity stunt.... i mean his name hasn't really been in the headlines latly......

Are you insane? Checking into a Mental Health Facility is not a way to get publicity; this is a cry for help. Are you going to tell us next that Michael Jackson told the world that he slept with boys to get his name in the media? You must have a really low opinion of Dave Chappelle to suggest that this is some kind of stunt.

[dotdotdot]

How can it be a publicity stunt if a) he checked into a mental health hospital, b) he is dave chappell, and c) if its not on the news at ALL?

[Phat_Pat]

I'm finding my own way of woking thru it :rolleyes:


I just don't want him being over with... I mean he’s one of my favorite comedians.

Now that i think of it what he hell was i thinking?

[MacNut]

Comedian Dave Chappelle Says, 'I'm Not Crazy'
AP
"I'm not in a mental facility," Chappelle tells Time magazine.

NEW YORK (May 15) - Comedian Dave Chappelle wants to set things straight: "I'm not crazy, I'm not smoking crack," he tells Time magazine in an interview after his hit Comedy Central show was suspended and the rumors started to fly.

"I'm definitely stressed out," said Chappelle, who took off last month to South Africa for a "spiritual retreat," leaving his fans - and even his agent and publicist - wondering where he went.

"You hear so many voices jockeying for position in your mind that you want to make sure that you hear your own voice," he said. "So I figured, let me just cut myself off from everybody, take a minute and pull a Flintstone - stop a speeding car by using my bare feet as the brakes."

After Comedy Central announced that the planned May 31 debut of the third season of "Chappelle's Show" had been postponed, the magazine Entertainment Weekly reported that Chappelle had checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa.

"I'm not in a mental facility," said Chappelle, who also said he did not have a drug problem but had consulted a psychiatrist for one 40-minute visit.

The 31-year-old comedian said he fled to stay with friends in Durban because he was not happy with the direction of the show, which is behind only "South Park" as Comedy Central's most-watched program.

"There's a lot of resistance to my opinions, so I decided, 'Let me remove myself from this situation,"' Chappelle said.

Comedy Central president Doug Herzog told Time that the star has "complete creative freedom." He has told staff he believes there will not be a "Chappelle's Show" in 2005, but leaves the option open for the comedian's return.

Chappelle, whose wife and two children live in Ohio, said he hopes to start up the show again, but did not indicate when he would return.

Comedy Central had inked a reported $50 million deal to keep "Chappelle's Show" for two more seasons, and the comedian hinted to Time about struggles associated with the power and fame that come with that kind of success.

"If you don't have the right people around you, and you're moving at a million miles an hour, you can lose yourself," he said. "Everyone around me says, 'You're a genius, you're great, that's your voice,' but I'm not sure that they're right."

[poundsmack]

all i can say is i hope he finds the piece of mind he is looking for

[jimsowden]

It's interesting he's actually not in a mental institution at all.
Time (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1061415,00.html)

[Phat_Pat]

i knew something wasn't right. Hes not the person i would see checking into a mental facility.

Hope he feels better.

[spinner]

When I first read the thread title I thought it was a publicity stunt for the show or something. Hope everything works out for him.

[dotdotdot]

Lets all hope for Chappelle's Show 2005!!

Woo hoo! No mental hospital for Chappelle!

[Sol]

Let me get this straight: Entertainment Weekly heard that Chappelle was in South Africa, and that he had one session with a psychiatrist, so they announced to the world that he had checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa. What a bunch of morons. Journalists, even those covering entertainment news, have a responsibility to tell their audience the truth. This was irresponsible fact twisting.

[Lyle]

According to this story (http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/03/tv.chappelle.ap/index.html), he's back in the U.S.

[dotdotdot]

According to this story (http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/03/tv.chappelle.ap/index.html), he's back in the U.S.

Oh Yeah!

NEW CHAPPELLE'S SHOW HOPE:

1 Hour Long
Ditch Musical Guest
Have a little more stand up
Less Commercials

[Sol]

Oh Yeah!

NEW CHAPPELLE'S SHOW HOPE:

1 Hour Long
Ditch Musical Guest
Have a little more stand up
Less Commercials

No way. The first time I heard Mos Def rapping was on Chappelle's show. As for making the show longer, I think confrontational comedy like this benefits from the shorter time format.

[Kwyjibo]

comedies don't work for an hour usually despite the format .... musical guests are usually good ... stand up I'd save it for HBO or live ... its not as funny when it goes through comedy central censors. Commercials are a product of success ... but i think most shows are 22 minutes long ... for all shows its pretty much static.

[dotdotdot]

comedies don't work for an hour usually despite the format .... musical guests are usually good ... stand up I'd save it for HBO or live ... its not as funny when it goes through comedy central censors. Commercials are a product of success ... but i think most shows are 22 minutes long ... for all shows its pretty much static.

We NEED an episode showing the complete mad real world sketch, which is over 28 minutes long...

[xsedrinam]

Never heard of him...
X

[Phobophobia]

It's interesting he's actually not in a mental institution at all.
Time (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1061415,00.html)

He could be lying. People lie for "damage control" all the time. When people say they just "need some time to think" or "time to rest" it's almost always due to drugs or mental problems. It's all PR--Dave Chappelle is trying to save his reputation. (Think Mariah Carey).

[Phat_Pat]

We NEED an episode showing the complete mad real world sketch, which is over 28 minutes long...
where did u see it was 28 minutes?

[dotdotdot]

where did u see it was 28 minutes?

Season 1 Outtakes, they show an outtake from the mad real world.

Changing the language from English 1 to English 2 brings up the commentary (you could also just click "With Audio Commentary" when watching)

Chappelle and Neal or whatever say that the original skit was 28 minutes long, and edited so that we saw the funny stuff.

One outtake, you know when we see Tyree and then Chat playing with themselves watching eachother with Katie, well an out take is that Lysol and Tyree knock chad out and rape him, and Katie begins taking pictures and playing with herself...