What did Dave Chappelle say about Lil Nas X’s MV for 'MONTERO (CMBYN)'? Rapper hits back at comedian's problematic remark

Stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix special has come under fire recently due to a series of insensitive jokes that he made.

The special, The Dreamer, which was released on December 31, 2023, had one segment in particular that garnered a lot of controversy. In it, Chappelle made a few problematic jokes about rapper Lil Nas X and his hit song Montero from 2021. He insinuated that kids who wanted to be like the rapper when they grew up would be laughed at by others.

Speaking about their first meeting at a party, Chappelle said,

"I had no idea who he was. But the minute he walked in that party, I knew I was in his dream. Everybody in the party was another dreamer. Everyone was famous. But when that n***a walked in, he was dressed like C-3PO. He was shining."

Chappelle also went on to joke about what Lil Nas X would have answered had his teacher asked him about his dream as a kid, stating:

“That n**** stood up in front of the whole class… I wanna be the gayest n**** that ever lived.”

The comedian then picked apart Lil Nas's viral music video for the song Montero in detail, suggesting that the rapper would have had such explicit dreams as a child. Dave Chappelle ended the segment by concluding that Lil Nas X's career was a failure since this was the only dream by the artist that became reality.

“Shockingly, that was the only dream that worked out.”

The special was slammed online for Dave Chappelle's insensitive comments towards Lil Nas X, some calling them homophobic since the rapper has publicly come out as gay. Chappelle also faced backlash for dismissing the rapper's commercially successful career.

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Lil Nas X responded to Dave Chappelle's insensitive remarks

Lil Nas himself responded to the comedian's remarks via his official X account on January 3, 2024. Replying to a snippet of the special uploaded by a fan account, the rapper stated:

"yall gotta let call me by your name go, me and the devil broke up 3 years ago. yall acting like children of divorce"

His comment was a reference to his song Montero and its subtitle Call Me By Your Name, which was taken from the title of a well-known same-s*x film from 2017. Suggesting that it's been three years since the release of the song, Lil Nas X said that the comedian should move on from the topic.

Dave Chappelle's comments about Montero being the rapper's only success are unfounded too. Lil Nas X's 2018 single Old Town Road has the record for the longest-running number-one song in Billboard 100 history, spending 19 weeks atop the chart. He has also won two Grammy Awards and was on TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list in 2021.

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Dave Chappelle's controversial stand-up career

This isn't the first time that the comedian has faced backlash for comments made during his stand-up routines. His previous Netflix special, The Closer, from 2021, sparked criticism and led to employee walkouts at the Netflix office over insensitive jokes about the trans community.

More recently, on October 19, 2023, fans walked out of a stand-up show in Boston after Chappelle allegedly criticized Israel’s bombing of Gaza. He reportedly condemned Israel for what he said were war crimes in Gaza and accused the United States of aiding in the deaths of innocent civilians.

As of yet, the comedian has not made a statement regarding Lil Nas X's reply to his joke, nor has he issued an apology.