Be that kind of friend

Powerful Friendship and Showing Up

In this unscripted and raw episode, comedian Dave Chappelle delivers an emotional speech honoring his dear friend and mentor John Stewart at the Mark Twain Prize ceremony. Dave shares stories that illustrate John's kindness, leadership, humor and unwavering friendship over the years. He highlights John's courage in speaking truth to power, especially in the post 9/11 era. Dave's heartfelt words serve as a reminder to show up for the people we love, no matter how busy or tired we are. Friendship takes work.

2:30 - Dave recalls meeting John when he was just 17
5:15 - How John made The Daily Show his own
8:00 - John was the first to support Dave publicly during controversial times
12:30 - John showed up immediately when Dave needed help raising money during the pandemic
18:00 - Dave can't fully express his love and respect for John in front of the crowd

This episode will inspire you to be a little kinder, show up a little more, and nurture your real friendships. Reach out to that friend you've been meaning to call. Dig deep and be the person that others can truly count on.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
A Jay production.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Ateen glenes A here working back to the Building bet
a Humans Project podcast. Today's episode is a little different,
but I think it's something that you'll find powerful, moving
and maybe even life shifting if you sit with it.
I recently watched Dave Chappelle's speech honoring John Stewart at
the twenty twenty two Mark Twain Prize, and I've got
to say that it stopped me in my tracks. I'm

(00:31):
a massive fan of Dave Chappelle the way he public speaks,
but this one was not because it was polished, not
because it was perfectly written, but because it was raw,
honest human. Dave didn't read a script, he didn't try
to perform. He just spoke from the heart about a
man that he clearly admires and loves. He talked about

(00:51):
John Steorg's humor, his values, his leadership. But more than that,
he talked about friendship, what it means to show up,
to be there, to have someone's back when it counts,
no matter what. And maybe this is the takeaway. Imagine
we all had a friend like that. Imagine we all
chose to be a friend like that. It was unscripted

(01:13):
into authentic, and that made it unforgettable. So rather than
trying to explain it, I want you to hear it
for yourself.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:24):
That's why it comes to a surprise to many of you.
I didn't prepare a speech, but that's not because I
didn't care. In fact, it's because I cared so much.
If you could imagine sitting down and trying to write
something about someone you feel so much about the way
I feel about John, it's very difficult.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
I won this surprise two.

Speaker 4 (01:47):
Years ago, and I'm imagining John that this is surreal experience.
I imagine you probably didn't even give it till last night,
and then last night you saw all your friends gathering,
You saw everyone dressed nice, and you realize he was
still alive. To see this, it's like getting a preview
to your funeral, and I'll out of work. A context

(02:14):
is everything, and me and John have a very unlikely friendship.
The context of their friendship having in a comedy club
in New York City, John being ten years my senior.
I was seventeen the first time I saw John Stewart.
Right before he walked in the door, I heard two
waitresses at the club talking about how handsome he was.

(02:35):
And then they go, oh my god, there he goes.
And I looked over and I said, yah, he's all right.

Speaker 5 (02:42):
So what happened was at night I would go to
the comedy seller and they put me on as the
last guy every night.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
There's six billion people in the world.

Speaker 6 (02:51):
You can't make six billion anything without some of them
being very bick up.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Open up a back of potato chips. We are there
forty in there. At least five of them are.

Speaker 5 (03:01):
It's the slot that they give someone that for some
reason they think, let's just see what happens to this guy.

Speaker 4 (03:07):
Thing I remember, being seventeen in adult world trying to
make something to myself is how kind he was. People
like John made me feel safer. He's a friendly guy.

Speaker 3 (03:20):
Now.

Speaker 4 (03:20):
The early part of any comedian's careers is embarrassing in hindsight,
because so many of us imitate our influences or try
on different personalities to see what works. But John has
been It's been the same since the very first time
I met him, nice and present. In nineteen ninety nine,

(03:43):
he got the Daily show. That show languished for three
years before he got it. No disrespect to Craig Kilburn,
but you know, what I mean. Yeah, it was like
the body of the show was there. But when John
got the show, it had a soul. It made people

(04:05):
take notice, and in two thousand and two, suddenly, somehow
he became the most popular news show on television.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
Actually, I know how.

Speaker 4 (04:13):
He had a good lead in Chapelle Show. In that context,
it was post nine to eleven.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
My career was the first time.

Speaker 4 (04:30):
That I can really remember that there was a stove
too hot to touch. No comedian was allowed to talk
about the war or Janet Jackson's titty coming out the
super Bowl. You remember that, You remember that memo that
went around. As we've all learned in our lives, wartime

(04:53):
is crazy in America. They do WHATNM Chumpsky called manufacturer consent,
and the news was off the chain, and John was the.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
Only voice that helped people decipher that. Maden. It was
a really remarkable thing to watch. We told you that
it wasn't going to go so well.

Speaker 6 (05:13):
Yes we called it shock in awe, but uh we
meant that in the way of you'll be shocked at
how it doesn't go so well, and that will make
you say, oh.

Speaker 3 (05:29):
He's been a great friend to me.

Speaker 4 (05:31):
I'm not here because I love John Stewart.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
I'm here because he loves me. Because it's never.

Speaker 4 (05:39):
Been a time that I called on him and asked
him for his.

Speaker 3 (05:41):
Help that he wasn't the first responder.

Speaker 4 (05:45):
When it was Half Baked and I was doing my
first movie and I needed a celebrity lift. John was
the first one to say, MA, I'll do it. I
don't even know if you smoke weeds. You seem like
a coke guy. The city coast to where I lived, Dayton, Ohio,

(06:09):
had a terrible mass shooting. Nine people were killed, and
I called my friends and they all pulled up for John.

Speaker 3 (06:14):
You were the first one and said, oh, I'll be there.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
And just days after that massacre, we took that neighborhood
and made a much better memory for them. They saw
love and support from voices that they trust.

Speaker 3 (06:27):
When we were on.

Speaker 4 (06:28):
Comedy Central, I picked the brand of irreverence. I said,
I'll touch everything they say I can't touch. But John's
voice became one that was synonymous with trust, and he
left right before the Trump administration. The most cynical time
in American politics, the time when nobody trust our media.
Well a guy like Donald Trump and just say fake

(06:49):
news and say I just believe this orange had got
and we missed you very much. During the pandemic, when
my town Joe was dying and I needed to help
raise money to get the economy the town straight, John

(07:11):
was the first responder. He was terrified of COVID and
he got on a plane anyway. After his friends had
died and he lost loved ones, he had the courage
to get on a plane. He came out and met
me and we did shows that whole weekend. And every
comic who came out there had been off for at
least one hundred nights. They were all nervous, and they

(07:31):
were all scared, except for John. John did twenty five
minutes off the rip because he had something to say,
because he actually means what he says, because he actually
thinks about what he says. A lot of comics will
take this John for granted. Then younger comics they do

(07:51):
what I call wokes.

Speaker 3 (07:52):
They're not jokes.

Speaker 4 (07:54):
They don't know the difference between a good point and
a good joke. John is very true to the muse.
He takes a good point and he makes a good
joke of it. John is a miracle to watch you work.
You are a cure to what ails our culture. You

(08:16):
are a voice that people consistently trust. I wish that
you run for president, but I imagine that would be
hard for a Cooke guy to do. When you started

(08:38):
your career, you never imagined that you would reach a
point like this. And the Mark Twain Prize might feel
like a finish line or end to a movie.

Speaker 3 (08:47):
It is not. It's a starter gun.

Speaker 4 (08:50):
You were still young, you were still strong, you were
still funny. And I do not have the words the
same in fun of these people. How much I love
you and how much I respect you. But just know
whenever you call on me, I will come because you
have been one of the greatest friends.

Speaker 3 (09:09):
That I've made in thirty five years.

Speaker 4 (09:12):
Congratulations, I'm honored that you got this award.

Speaker 6 (09:18):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (09:22):
I'm sorry I got it before you, but I'm your
lucky leader, John Stoladies and gentlemen, thank you.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
I can't thank you, don it. I love you, I
love thank you. I love you too.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
Powerful Right, there's a part of the end that hit
me hard, Dave says, and I do not have the
word to say in front of these people, how much
I love you and how much I respect you, but
just know whenever you call on me, I will come.

Speaker 3 (10:16):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
That's a Marcus, someone who loves deeply and shows up.
That's what friendship looks like when it's real, not just
when it's convenient, not just in good times, but anytime
when it matters, no matter how busy or tired or
broken we are, we show up because that's what love does.
That's what friendship does. I love the Dave honored his

(10:38):
friend in this way, and I love the way that
man speaks, the clarity, the rhythm, the way he can
walk you through a story and hit your soul without
raising his voice. I know this isn't my usual share
on this podcast, but man, I could listen to Dave
Chappelle all day, not just because he's funny, but because
he's truthful, and that kind of honesty is rare. So

(11:00):
I hope you got something out of this. Maybe it
made you think of a friend you haven't called in
a while. Maybe it reminded you of show up better.
Maybe it just made you feel something. Either way, that's
why I shared it. As always, I just want to
thank you for being here, thank you for showing up
for me, for yourself for the people that you care about.
If this one hit you like it hit me, send

(11:21):
it to someone that's that kind of friend for you, or,
better yet, be that friend for someone else today. Till
next time, live bold, lead with love, and when they call,
show up.

Speaker 1 (11:35):
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Building Better
Humans podcast with your host Glenn a'ser for feedback. To
stay up to date or go back and find an
old episode, head over to one ady dot net dot
au here the Building Better Humors Project pie Cares.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
Let's go