Screen
Neal Brennan disses Chappelle
by Winston "Stone" Ford
Hot off the presses. Maxim magazine has an exclusive interview with Chappelle’s show co-writer Neal Brennan where he just straight up says that he would never work with Chappelle again.
Was it the insensitive laugh of a Chappelle’s Show crew member that caused beleaguered comedian Dave Chappelle to quit his hit Comedy Central show and bolt for a mental facility in South Africa last May? Apparently so. Neal Brennan, Chappelle’s writing partner of 10 years, tells the July issue of Maxim that a crew member’s hard laugh during a racially insensitive skit might have caused Chappelle to fly off the handle: “Well, this particular crew member had a condescending laugh- but that’s just the way he laughs,” Brennan tells Maxim. “But, yeah, that was Dave’s feeling, and you can't change someone’s feeling. ”Although the lost Chapelle’s Show episodes will air on Comedy Central on July 9, Brennan tells Maxim that since the comedians bizarre departure, things were never the same. “What happened in the last year is the weirdest thing I can remember happening in TV, movies, or music. There’s no parallel,” Brennan says. “These lost episodes are the weirdest thing since Geraldo opened Al Capone’s vault. The audience likes them. The crew likes them. One of the people who wrote them likes them. But the guy who’s in them somehow didn't. I don't know what to make of it.”
And don't bet on a lovey-dovey reunion between the two ex-pals anytime soon. When asked if Brennan would ever work with Chappelle again, the response was crystal clear: “No. There’s no chance.”
I'm sure that Brennan has a right to be pissed. He’s out of work. But damn, I'm sure that there is more to this whole saga than originally thought. Charlie Murphy still has kind words to say to the dude though.