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Dave Chappelle devotes Netflix special to the issues surrounding George Floyd's death

The 27-minute show is titled '8:46 - Dave Chappelle,' which is the amount of time a former Minneapolis police officer was filmed kneeling on George Floyd's neck.
Credit: Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP
Dave Chappelle is honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019, in Washington. (Photo by Owen Sweeney/Invision/AP)

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio — An emotional Dave Chappelle special, shared by Netflix on YouTube Thursday, addresses the death of George Floyd and the protests across the globe that followed.

The 27-minute show is titled "8:46 - Dave Chappelle," which is the amount of time on May 25 that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed kneeling on George Floyd's neck before he died.

"This man kneeled on a man's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. Can you imagine that?" Chappelle said during his standup. "This kid thought he was going to die, he knew he was going to die. He called for his dead mother."

RELATED: Surveillance video captures early moments of George Floyd's encounter with police

During the special, Chappelle noted that "8:46" is also the time of day when he was born. 

Warning: This video contains strong language.

"I can't tell you as a man watching another man go through something like that, what it makes you feel like,'' he says. "I didn't watch the tape for a week. I said I don't want to see this because I can't unsee it. When I finally watched it, I understood nobody is going home. Anyone who sees this, they're gonna be furious."

Chappelle talks about everything from Floyd's death and also references the deaths of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and others whose stories have created a call to correct racial injustice. He even slammed television host Laura Ingraham and political commentator Candace Owens for commentary about race in America.

"Shout out all the young people who have had the courage to go out and do all this amazing work, protesting, I am very proud of you," he said. "You kids are excellent drivers, I am comfortable in the back seat of the car, so carry on young ones."

The performance was filmed on June 6 in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The audience was socially distancing, which Chapelle said is "weird and less than ideal circumstances to do a show."

The caption of the video reads, "From Dave: Normally I wouldn't show you something so unrefined, I hope you understand. To find out more about how you can support the Equal Justice Initiative go here: https://eji.org/."

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