In his new Netflix comedy special, Dave Chappelle says that one of the five women who accused fellow comedian Louis C.K. of sexual misconduct in a November New York Times article has a “brittle-ass spirit” for alleging that his conduct helped dissuade her from pursuing comedy as a career.
Chappelle addresses the recent spate of sexual harassment and assault allegations in Hollywood in the opening to The Bird Revelation, the second part of his Netflix special Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & the Bird Revelation, which premiered New Year’s Eve. It was taped in late November at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles.
“Here we are, Los Angeles, the real capital of rape and dick breath,” Chappelle tells the audience in his opening remarks. “They got Charlie Rose today…Who’s next, Captain Kangaroo?”
After Chappelle jokes about allegations against Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, he spends over 10 minutes addressing sexual misconduct allegations against Louis C.K. He says the allegations against C.K. — many of which involve him masturbating in front of other women — were a “turning point” for him, because his actions were the only ones in the recent series of allegations that made Chappelle “laugh.”
“It’s terrible, I know, it’s terrible. I’m sorry, ladies, you’re right. You are right,” Chappelle says. “At the same time, you know what I mean, I mean, Jesus Christ, I don’t know, they took everything from Louis, it might be disproportionate, I can’t tell, I can’t tell, this is like where it’s hard to be a man.”
Chappelle continues by addressing the allegations of Abby Schachner, a former comedian who claimed that Louis C.K. masturbated while on a phone call with her in 2003 in a November story in The New York Times. The Times reported that though the comedian apologized, the experience left Schachner “deeply dispirited” and that his conduct was “one of the things that discouraged her from pursuing comedy.”
Chappelle mentions Schachner’s story twice in his sexual harassment bit. “One lady said, ‘Louis C.K. masturbated in front of me, ruined my comedy dreams,'” he says. “Word?’ Well then I dare say, madam, you may have never had a dream. Come on man, that’s a brittle spirit. That is a brittle-ass spirit, that is too much, this grown-ass woman.”
Chappelle says that if Louis C.K. had masturbated in front of civil-rights icon Martin Luther King, he doubts that King would have dropped his “dream.” “Show business is just harder than that,” he continues. “I know that sounds fucked up, I’m not supposed to say that, but one of these ladies was like, ‘Louis C.K .was masturbating while I was on the phone with him.’ Bitch, you don’t know how to hang up a phone? How the fuck are you going to survive in show business if this is an actual obstacle to your dreams?”
Chappelle has previously released two other comedy specials on Netflix.
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.