In his latest “GED Section” segment, comedian and commentator D.L. Hughley examined the outrage over a recent Dave Chappelle joke. He argued that many of the loudest critics have long excused, and even laughed at, jokes about tragedies involving Black and Brown lives.
Charlie Kirk Jokes About Gaza
Hughley opened by playing a clip of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk joking about Gaza being leveled. Hughley pointed to the human cost behind the punchline. He cited roughly 60,000 children killed and said much of the world, including U.S. allies and major human rights organizations, has described the destruction as a genocide. He also noted reports of journalists and aid workers killed in the region. “But it’s funny,” Hughley said sarcastically.
The Dave Chappelle Double Standard
That clip set up Hughley’s central point. He said the same people who shrugged off Kirk’s Gaza comments now claim to be offended by Chappelle’s joke at Madison Square Garden. To Hughley, the outrage depends on who the joke targets, not on what the joke says.
Joe Rogan’s Selective Outrage
Hughley turned next to podcaster Joe Rogan, long seen as a defender of unfiltered comedy. He reminded viewers that after the Kevin Hart roast, Rogan called comedians who were offended by jokes “traitors” and told them, in blunt terms, to go away. Hughley said Rogan has now condemned Chappelle’s joke as one of the most horrible things he has seen. He called the shift inconsistent.
Tony Hinchcliffe and George Floyd
Hughley also raised comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who he said has told a George Floyd joke for about seven years. He described the joke as nearly identical in structure to Chappelle’s. Hughley said Floyd’s nine-minute death on camera was gruesome, yet some critics mocked it and treated the phrase “I can’t breathe” as a punchline. He made clear he did not believe Kirk deserved to die the way he did. Still, he called Kirk “a vile, vile man” and cited his past remarks about Black people, women, and Palestinians.
Trump, Russell Brand, and MAGA Hypocrisy
Hughley widened the lens to President Donald Trump. He cited Trump’s mockery of Paul Pelosi after the brutal attack on him, as well as Trump’s comments about Rob Reiner. He then pointed to conservative media’s warm embrace of Russell Brand, whom he described as a convicted rapist. Hughley argued that many in the MAGA movement, including Megyn Kelly, show more hostility toward Black people than toward people accused of sexual abuse.
The Call for Consistency
Hughley closed with a simple standard. You can call Chappelle’s joke off-color, and you can be offended by it. Chappelle has the right to say it, and you have the right to object. “But be consistent,” Hughley said. Anyone angered by Chappelle but silent about Hinchcliffe, he argued, is a hypocrite. He turned Rogan’s own words back on him, saying comedians who apply that double standard are exactly what Rogan called them: traitors.