EXCLUSIVE: Dave Chappelle’s jokes and thoughts in his latest Netflix special The Unstoppable about the trials and tribulations of the much accused and currently incarcerated Sean Combs have received a mixed reaction, to put it mildly. However, for one Diddy accuser there is nothing fun, funny or insightful about the comedian’s comments.
“His latest Netflix special, The Unstoppable…, left me deeply unsettled with its repeated expressions of support for Sean “Diddy” Combs,” Jonathan Hay told Deadline.
“Chappelle attempts to downplay the horrific situation involving Cassie Ventura, turning her documented physical assault into fodder for jokes, while casually admitting he once ‘missed his chance’ to have sex with her,” the producer added of the part of the December 19 dropped Unstoppable where the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor winner discussed allegations against Combs and his so-called “freak-offs” with the Me & U singer.” Such humor doesn’t just minimize her trauma; it normalizes it,” Hay adds.
READ ALL OF JONATHAN HAY’S STATEMENT ON CHAPPELLE & COMBS BELOW
Last month, the LA County Sheriff’s Department announced it has opened an investigation into claims of a 2020 sexual battery by Combs against music producer Hay. There was also a 2021 incident where Diddy said a kidnapped and hooded Hay was being a “snitch,” and allegedly ordered everyone else out of the room and then tried “to force plaintiff to perform oral copulation on Combs, while plaintiff’s head was still covered.”
Diddy’s team responded to at the time to the claims in redacted filings by Hay by saying their client “categorically denies as false and defamatory all claims that he sexually abused anyone.”
If Combs is charged out of the LASD probe and found guilty, he could be sentenced to several years in California state prison. Right now, serving a four-year sentence in a low-security facility in New Jersey for being found guilty on July 2 of two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in his sex trafficking and RICO trial, an appealing Combs isn’t expected to be free until mid-2028.
Today, as the LASD probe continues according to law enforcement sources, Hay was vehement in his claims and criticism of “my favorite comedian of all time” Chappelle’s POV on Combs and his alleged actions of sexual violence and exploitation.
“As someone who has personally endured sexual assault at the hands of Combs, these moments aren’t abstract punchlines, they’re relentless triggers that reopen wounds for survivors like me.”
Now, it’s no secret that Chappelle likes to punch out for outrage’s sake. In the suddenly released Unstoppable, the comedian tells a riotous DC crowd in the tight 75-minute special of why he decided to perform at a comedy fest in Saudi Arabia despite the Kingdom’s 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, plus his take on reactions to Charlie Kirk’s death and trans rights (again).
Chappelle also admits a bias for Combs based on the Bad Boy Records founder leaping to his physical defense when an attacker stormed the stage while the comic was performing at the Hollywood Bowl in 2022. “It’s not that I think Puff is right, but when I got attacked in L.A. at the Hollywood Bowl, people forget Puff was the guy that tackled my attacker,” Chappelle tells the Unstoppable crowd. “He saved my life.”
“That’s a hard dude to be mad at after that.”
Still, it’s not all high fives as Chappelle details a visit to Diddy’s LA home not long afterwards that went sideways towards the end – though the comic didn’t realize it at the time.
“I didn’t see none of the stuff they said in that trial,” Chappelle starts off. “House is clean, traction on the floor, nothing slippery,” he notes in a clear reference to the prodigious baby oil use that Combs was tainted with in testimony over his alleged sexual abuse of Ventura and other women with male escorts.
“Puff started swirling his drink like this and he goes, ‘So Dave, what are you into?’” Chappelle then said after a bit of a chat between the duo. continues. “You know me, I was like, ‘I don’t know …books, video games.’ I didn’t know that was my big chance to f*ck Cassie.”
Later, Chappelle swings it all around, sorta.
“Cassie is a gangster,” he states of Combs’ ex, who spent days and days on the stand in a NYC federal courtroom earlier this year telling a jury of the years of drugs, violence, rape, multi-million dollar settlements and more from Diddy – testimony that was often backed up by videos and photos. “She did something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. She had to testify about her sex life. That’s tough.”
Representatives for Chappelle did not respond to Deadline’s request for comment on Hay’s statement. Netflix did respond, but had no comment.
As of today, Chappelle’s self-proclaimed “no-holds-barred special” The Unstoppable is the Number #1 TV show on the streamer. That top spot is the same number #1 that the Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson produced Sean Combs; The Reckoning held just a few weeks ago
READ JONATHAN HAY’S STATEMENT ON CHAPPELLE & COMBS HERE:
Dave Chappelle has long been my favorite comedian of all time, a master of sharp wit and unflinching social commentary. Yet his latest Netflix special, The Unstoppable…, left me deeply unsettled with its repeated expressions of support for Sean “Diddy” Combs. Throughout the show, Chappelle frames Combs’ recent Mann Act conviction as an example of racially motivated persecution, drawing parallels to the legendary boxer Jack Johnson, the very figure around whom the law was originally crafted to criminalize his relationship with a white woman across state lines.
The issue here is glaring: Combs was charged under the Mann Act for sex trafficking women of color, not for the interracial dynamics that fueled Johnson’s targeting. This mischaracterization overlooks the gravity of the allegations against Combs, which center on the exploitation and trafficking of women of color. Even more troubling, Chappelle attempts to downplay the horrific situation involving Cassie Ventura, turning her documented physical assault into fodder for jokes, while casually admitting he once “missed his chance” to have sex with her. Such humor doesn’t just minimize her trauma; it normalizes it.
As someone who has personally endured sexual assault at the hands of Combs, these moments aren’t abstract punchlines, they’re relentless triggers that reopen wounds for survivors like me. The pain never fully fades, and hearing a global icon like Chappelle defend an assailant while millions laugh along only amplifies the isolation. Imagine if Chappelle himself, or his sons Sulayman and Ibrahim, were victims of violent sexual assault. How would he feel watching a comedian publicly champion their abuser, turning their suffering into worldwide entertainment? It’s not comedy; it’s callous. We deserve better from the artists we admire.
As a survivor still carrying the weight of what happened, moments like these in Chappelle’s special only deepen my resolve and make me all the more eager for the ongoing criminal investigations by both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department into the allegations against Sean Combs, CJ Wallace, and Willie Mack to deliver the accountability I deserve.