Chappelle to Headline 3 Nights at Netflix Is a Joke
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- Dave Chappelle will perform three consecutive nights at the Hollywood Palladium (May 7-9) for Netflix Is a Joke 2026, with shows blending comedy and music; tickets go on sale April 29.
- Netflix released four Chappelle specials in 2017 alone — "The Age of Spin," "Deep in the Heart of Texas," "Equanimity," and "The Bird Revelation" — his first publicly aired specials since 2004, beginning a relationship now nearing 10 years.
- Chappelle has since released five more Netflix specials, including "Sticks & Stones" and the most recent "The Unstoppable," and has frequently blended music and comedy with collaborators like The Roots, Yasiin Bey, and John Mayer.
- Netflix publicly stood by Chappelle through controversy over transgender jokes in his specials; Chappelle told NPR he resented that "the Republican Party ran on transgender jokes," calling it a "weaponized version" of his material.
- Netflix Is a Joke runs May 4-10 with over 350 events across Los Angeles, and the broader lineup includes a roast of Kevin Hart, John Mulaney at the Hollywood Bowl, and Katt Williams at the Intuit Dome.
Why it matters: The three-night booking is the latest in a partnership that has now produced nine Chappelle specials across nearly a decade — a run that survived a high-profile controversy and underscores Netflix's continued willingness to anchor a flagship festival around a single, polarizing headliner.
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