Lil Nas That’s clear in the comedian’s latest Netflix special, “The Dreamer.”
The controversial comedian closed out 2023 with a nearly hour-long stand-up show that reflected on his own dreams and those of powerful men.
In “The Dreamer,” Chappelle, 50, ridiculed Will Smith, praised Chris Rock and mocked the transgender community (again). As a grand finale, Chappelle made a dig at the 24-year-old Grammy winner, a dig the musician eventually brushed aside.
“I know a dreamer when I see one, and I’ve met many powerful dreamers in my life,” he said, “none more powerful than a man who calls himself Lil Nas X.”
Chappelle recalled meeting the “Industry Baby” singer (real name Montero Lamar Hill) at a party, without knowing who he was. She said the rapper (“dressed like C-3PO”) approached him and told him he had tried to include the comedian in his music video.
“What video?” Chappelle said. “’Do you know what video?’, and [he] “he walked away.”
The comedian said the interaction reminded him of elementary school teachers who asked their students about their aspirations. After lurid comments about how dreams of becoming a firefighter or president of the United States didn’t come true, Chappelle turned his attention back to Lil Nas X.
Discussing his portrayal of a young Lil Nas “I want to make a music video and slide down a stripper pole into the depths of hell… at 10 o’clock on BET while all the kids are awake and can see me.”
In 2020, Lil Nas X, who is openly gay, released the music video for his hit “Montero (Call Me by Your Name).” The infamous clip, in which the singer is seen dancing along a pole and offering Satan a lap dance, generated negative reactions from conservative politicians and commentators and ignited a Satanic panic. In June 2021, Lil Nas
“Surprisingly, that was the only dream that worked,” Chappelle added in his special.
The comedian’s inquiry into Lil Nas In response to Chappelle, Lil Nas wrote: “Everyone should let me call you by name.”
“The devil and I broke up 3 years ago,” he added. “You all act like children of divorce.”
Unlike Chappelle, Lil Nas X has far moved beyond “Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” and its controversy. In another tweet on Wednesday, the Georgia-born rapper teased the next chapter of his music and criticized your enemies.
“At some point they have to realize that I’m God’s favorite,” he said, before announcing a January 12 release date for his new music.
