Chappelle Reportedly Checks Into Facility

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
1 hour, 25 minutes ago

Comedy Central star Dave Chappelle has checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa, the magazine Entertainment Weekly reported on Wednesday.

The comedian's whereabouts and condition have been unknown since Comedy Central abruptly announced last week that the planned May 31 launch of the third season of "Chappelle's Show" had been postponed and production halted.

Chappelle flew from Newark, N.J., to South Africa on April 28 for treatment, said the magazine, quoting a source close to the show it would not identify. Entertainment Weekly said it had corroborating sources for its story.

"We don't know where he is," Comedy Central spokesman Tony Fox said. "We've heard about South Africa. We don't know. We haven't talked to Dave."

Chappelle's spokesman, Matt Labov, would not comment on the magazine's story.

"It seems like the issues he's contending with are really quite serious," said Dade Hayes, a senior editor at Entertainment Weekly. "It isn't a case of him spending a weekend someplace recuperating from exhaustion."

The magazine's sources say Chappelle is still in the facility, which was not named, Hayes said. Chappelle's representatives have denied that the comedian was abusing drugs.

Chappelle reportedly signed a $50 million deal with Comedy Central for two more seasons of his show, a payday made possible because of the explosive sales of the show's first season DVD.

The magazine said Chappelle had shot four to five episodes' worth of sketches for the new season, but none of its onstage introductions.

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Bummer. I hope he's OK.

don't watch the show, but that is sad to hear. hope he's alright.

WHAAAAT!!

I kinda figured something along these lines was coming. I'm just glad it's this (allegedly) and not that they found him in a hotel room dead from an overdose. Whatever is going on, I hope he gets himself better.

Just saw that. Hope hes alright

That crazy mother-fucker is actually a crazy mother-fucker. No wonder why I love that show so much. I hope he's cleans out some demons and returns.

you really should try to catch it some time, its awesome

damn this shit is getting mysterious. did anyone see that primetime where they interviewed him? i think it was on right after the $50 million contract. he seemed so together.

wow,he is in the funny farm
Where life is beautiful all the time
To the happy home
With trees and flowers and chirping birds
And basket weavers who sit and smile
And twiddle their thumbs and toes
And they're coming to take me away, Ha-haaa!

Am I the only one that thinks that this could be a ploy? Like he's there w/ a video camera filming it for a skit and laughing his ass off at all these articles? I mean, remember the 'Wayne Brady' situation?

They ought to film him there. They could get another five episode's worth of comedy out of it.

Ya, I can totally see that...almost an Andy Kauffman-type thing. I think that would be amazing i fthey did that and pulled it off well.

whygodeep

You're not the only one. That's the first thing I wondered when I read it. Of course, if it's true, I sincerely wish him the best w/ hope that he can work through this.

Jim Breuer Unleased, Channel 147 on Sirius, he was talking about Chappelle a little last night. Him and a few other comics were saying if Chappelle chose to turn down the $50 million over creative differences with Comedy Central or just didnt feel his material was good enough they saw nothing wrong with that.

dude all comedians do this shit..

robin williams, martin lawrence, jim carrey..they all have checked in for mental health in their careers..

i guess you gotta be that crazy to be so funny

Dave Chappelle Says He's Not Crazy

Sun May 15,11:06 AM ET
Associated Press

Comedian Dave Chappelle wants to set things straight: "I'm not crazy, I'm not smoking crack," he tells Time magazine in an interview more than a week after his hit Comedy Central show was suspended and the rumors started to fly.

"I'm definitely stressed out," said Chappelle, who took off last month to South Africa for a "spiritual retreat," leaving his fans — and even his agent and publicist — wondering where he went.

"You hear so many voices jockeying for position in your mind that you want to make sure that you hear your own voice," he said. "So I figured, let me just cut myself off from everybody, take a minute and pull a Flintstone — stop a speeding car by using my bare feet as the brakes."

After Comedy Central announced that the planned May 31 debut of the third season of "Chappelle's Show" had been postponed, the magazine Entertainment Weekly reported that Chappelle had checked himself into a mental health facility in South Africa.

"I'm not in a mental facility," said Chappelle, who also said he did not have a drug problem but had consulted a psychiatrist for one 40-minute visit.

The 31-year-old comedian said he fled to stay with friends in Durban because he wasn't happy with the direction of the show, which is behind only "South Park" as Comedy Central's most-watched program.

"There's a lot of resistance to my opinions, so I decided, 'Let me remove myself from this situation,'" Chappelle said.

Comedy Central president Doug Herzog told Time that the star has "complete creative freedom." He has told staff he believes there won't be a "Chappelle's Show" in 2005, but leaves the option open for the comedian's return.

Chappelle, whose wife and two children live in Ohio, said he hopes to start up the show again, but did not indicate when he would return.

Comedy Central had inked a reported $50 million deal to keep "Chappelle's Show" for two more seasons, and the comedian hinted to Time about struggles associated with the power and fame that come with that kind of success.

"If you don't have the right people around you, and you're moving at a million miles an hour, you can lose yourself," he said. "Everyone around me says, 'You're a genius, you're great, that's your voice,' but I'm not sure that they're right."

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Huh, kinda reminds me of Pearl Jam.

Glad to hear he hasn't lost his mind or become an addict. Hopefully he'll get his stuff together and bring the show back, the past two seasons have been hilarious.


Anyone know if the 2nd season dvd is still coming out or if they pushed it back again?

hmmm, sounds kinda fishy

Great to hear he's okay. Thanks for the post.

i hope dave's shooting straight about everything... if so, this is great news