Dave ChappelleĀ just sent a fiery message toĀ Bill MaherĀ after the late-night host slammed comments he made about free speech at a Saudi comedy festival.
On Friday, December 19, the comedianās stand-up special,Ā Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable, dropped on Netflix. And in it, Chappelle, 52, issued a direct response to theĀ Real Time With Bill Maher host, 69, calling him out in October.
āYou know, and Bill Maher, the famous comedian,ā he said at one point. āIāve known Bill since I was like 18, 19 years old, and Iāve never said this publicly, but f*** that guy.ā
Chappelle added, āIām so f***ing tired of his little smug cracker-a** commentary.ā

On the October 3 episode ofĀ Real Time, Maher spoke with guestĀ Louis C.K.Ā about the Riyadh Comedy Festival held from late September through early October. āDave Chappelleā¦was in the press today saying that you can speak more freely over here than in America,ā MaherĀ said. āIt is not true.ā
Louis C.K., who also performed at the festival, replied, āI donāt know if thatās true.ā To that, Maher insisted, āOh, itās not true,ā before quipping that Chappelle should try out a joke about Muhammad and see how it goes.
In his Netflix special, Chappelle clarified of free speech comment, saying, āI didnāt tell them to put this in the paper. I just said it on stage.ā He also told the audience, āDonāt forget what I just went through.ā
Chappelle continued, āTwo years ago, I almost got canceled right here in the United States for transgender jokes. But I gotta tell you something: Transgender jokes went over very well in Saudi Arabia.ā
AlthoughĀ Real Time With Bill MaherĀ is currently on a holiday hiatus, new episodes kick off on Friday,Ā January 23.
Real Time with Bill Maher, Season 24, Premieres, Friday, January 23, 2026, HBO