Sticks and stones can break his bones, but nothing can break Dave Chappelle’s extraordinary career. At least, that’s how it may seem to some of the comedian’s fans, who have watched Chappelle make an impressive comeback to the world of laughter. The Washington DC native has not had the easiest path, thanks to his involuntary battle against the racism of most production companies. After a particularly bad experience on The Dave Chappelle Show, in which the performer was racially mocked by white audience members, Chappelle took a step back to spend time with his family.
Now, however, fans are wondering what exactly Chappelle’s family looks like. Does he have any siblings? How close are they. And, as of recently, the comedian is back with some Chappelle-themed Netflix specials that might have fans laughing off their rockers... but where does this leave his family? Read on for the inside scoop:
The People Who Made Chappelle
Dave Chappelle does, in fact, have siblings. In an interview with a student group from the Pace School of Design, the comedian revealed that he has two siblings: a sister Felicia and a brother William, both older. According to the exclusive, Chappelle’s siblings played a pretty major role in who he is today. Most significantly, they shaped him to be the kind if person to pursue comedy as a career.
The comedian told the Pace School students that part of his role as the youngest child was to crack jokes to lighten the family dynamic. “I was funny. I was the youngest kid,” Chappelle divulged, “The youngest kid in the family usually plays that role of tension breaker. I was that dude.” Apparently, the comedian was so good at playing the comic relief among his siblings that even his mother noticed his talent. “My mom suggested that I go to a comedy club and check it out,” he said.
However, while Felicia and William were part of the reason he began to pursue comedy, they were also a major part of the reason that he took a break. In the last year of their father’s life, Felicia broke the news that the elderly teacher had suffered a stroke. Chappelle went running back to his father’s town Yellow Springs, Ohio. As the comedian suffered the slow loss of his father, he also experienced increasing disillusionment with regards to Hollywood. As a consequence, the comedian decided to stay in Yellow Springs to be closer to his siblings.
This Ohio Life
Yellow Springs might seem like a random place for a comedic success story to settle down, but Chappelle stands by his choice. He bought a farm, which he calls the “F*** you Hollywood farm,” and continues to live there. He has also chosen to raise his own children there.
Throughout the interview, Chappelle maintains that the reason to go back to Ohio was truly all about family. “Look...at that point in your life, it’s something so real, in contrast to what Hollywood is, a very powerful illusion. And when your dad dies... It just kind of broke the spell. Like, ‘Woah, this is bullsh**.’ I’ve been spending so much time doing this, what about my family?”
Luckily for Chappelle, Yellow Springs has given him the chance to connect with his family in a very real way. For one thing, he has been able to collaborate with Felicia to bring a kind of arts revolution to the area— Dave, though his comedy shows, and Felicia, through her own one woman show.
Felicia has also gone on record saying that one of her favorite things to do is watch her brother give his comedy performances. “I just go when I have time,” she told Amelia Robinson on What Had Happened Was, “I can’t say there’s a favorite. Every single week is a whole different miracle and a while new set of magic. They’ve all been really tremendous and fun.” How adorable!
Siblings Having Fun
There’s more to the Chappelle kids’ sibling relationship than just going to each other’s performances. They also have a full social life outside of the worlds of comedy and acting. “We see each other at the shows,” Felicia said but also added, “we see each other at the juke joints... we see each other at all those little underground events and all those fun little things.”
She is also not afraid to pump her little brother up via a dose or two of humble bragging. The proud big sister revealed that even when Chappelle was a young child, he would tell stories that would leave the whole family wanting more. “Every seat in the house would be taken,” she said. If that story doesn’t show sibling support, we are not sure what does!
