A week and a half ago, Netflix and comedian Dave Chappelle surprised everyone by announcing that the latter’s fifth — yes, fifth — stand-up special would be debuting at the end of the month. Well, today is that day and, unsurprisingly, Sticks & Stones is generating all kinds of controversy online. From his past comments on Louis C.K. and the #MeToo movement to his routinely criticized jokes about transgender people, Chappelle spends a lot of time addressing these conflicts and doubling down. And then, there’s the a somewhat hidden ending…
Yes, that’s right. If you watch all of Sticks & Stones to the very end of the credits (or fast-forward your way there), the Netflix platform will naturally offer viewers an autoplay option. The thing is, this option isn’t one of Chappelle’s four comedy specials from 2017 — or one of the hundreds of specials that the streamer has produced and distributed. It’s additional material from his recent Broadway show, which came after his short joint tour with Jon Stewart. In both instances, Chappelle came back out after the set was done to take questions from the audience and riff.
That’s exactly what he does in the extra 23 minutes of material that Netflix has secretively tagged onto the end of Sticks & Stones. Among other things, Chappelle jokes about the fact that the Broadway audience paid around $800 dollars for front row seats, while his Atlanta audience — where the special was taped — spent closer to $60 for the same seats. He also takes questions about the 2020 presidential election and other hot button topics. So, make sure to stick around for Epilogue: The Punchline.
