What did Dave Chappelle say about San Francisco? Comedian invokes Batman reference as he tears into the Golden City

Comedian Dave Chappelle recently tore into San Francisco, remarking that the whole city was now like the "Tenderloin district." Dave discussed the city's immense problem of homelessness during a Surprise performance at San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium on Thursday, May 11.

Dave Chappelle lambasted the city of California during a surprise show in the Golden City (Image via Instagram/@davechappelle)

While speaking on the downfall of San Francisco, the 49-year-old comic recounted how he once saw a man poop in front of a restaurant he was dining at.

Chappelle's comments are not hollow. San Francisco is experiencing the worst case of homelessness in the country. The city reported a massive 35% increase in homelessness from 2019.

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Dave Chappelle said that San Francisco has become “half-Glee, half-zombie movie”

As he delved into the Golden City's rampant homelessness problem, Dave asked the San Francisco crowd:

"What the f*ck happened to this place?"

The comedian remarked that San Francisco had turned into a "half-Glee, half-zombie movie " before exclaiming that the entire city was now the Tenderloin district. The Tenderloin district in San Francisco is infamous for its massive crime, homelessness, and drug problem.

Chappelle called San Francisco his second home. (Image via Twitter/Kimttai)

Dave also narrated a story about a "crappy" experience he had once when he was dining out in an Indian restaurant in the Tenderloin district, where he noticed a homeless person casually defecating in front of the very building he was about to eat at, right as he was walking in.

He compared the city with the fictional Gotham City, by stating:

"Ya'll...need Batman."

Dave Chappelle has performed in San Francisco so frequently that he refers to it as his second home. He recalled that earlier in his comedy career, he would perform in the city so often that he used it like a "Goddamn ATM" whenever he needed money.

The last time Dave Chappelle was in the city, he brought Space X CEO Elon Musk onto the stage. The audience said hello to the billionaire by welcoming him with a chorus of boos.

The last time the comedian was trending online was for the backlash he got after making a barrage of offensive anti-trans jokes on his Netflix special The Closer.

Despite groups constantly trying to boycott him and his shows, Chappelle still manages to sell out shows consistently.

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Is Dave Chappelle right about San Francisco?

San Francisco is going through more than just a rough patch. 38,000 people are homeless in the city on any given night. That is a 35% increase from 2019. The Golden City is the epicenter of a problem that extends all across the state of California.

In an estimate by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 171,500 people were homeless in California as of January 2022. That makes up 30% of the entire homeless population of the country.

California also has the highest percentage of unsheltered homeless people of any state in the United States. Ironically, California houses half of the unsheltered people in the whole country.

The number of people experiencing homelessness in the country from 2010 to 2020 fell by 18%. In the golden state, that number shot up by 31%.