Dave Chappelle went somewhere few comics would dare during a sold-out Saturday night show at Madison Square Garden.

In a clip from the set that leaked online and spread fast on social media the comedian told the New York crowd that he has felt better ever since Charlie Kirk was murdered. He admitted up front that saying so in public made him uneasy.

"It's scary being a public speaker," Chappelle told the audience before the confession. He insisted he never asked to feel that way — then described cruising around wondering why he was in such a great mood until the reason suddenly dawned on him.

Not his first Kirk bit

Chappelle has gone after Kirk on stage before. In his stand-up special "The Unstoppable" he pushed back hard on people who compared the conservative activist to Martin Luther King Jr.

He argued in that special that Kirk fundamentally could not operate like a civil rights leader. He also said internet personalities stay negative because their business depends on it.

Kirk was shot dead in September 2025 during an event on the Utah Valley University campus.

A post from his widow

Kirk's widow Erika Kirk posted on X after the clip spread in what looked like a reply to Chappelle's routine.