American stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle has received widespread praise after revealing a “code” in his surprise Netflix special, telling viewers that if he ever says “I stand with Israel”, it means he has been “co-opted” and “they got me”.
The line came as the dramatic closer to Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable, a 75-minute special that dropped on Netflix on Friday evening.
Throughout the set, Chappelle touched on Charlie Kirk, American politics and his recent performance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, which also drew significant online attention.
Addressing his fears of being “co-opted” by powerful interests, Chappelle told the audience: “The fear I have… is co-option… What if these n***** rip me up somehow, co-opt me, and then make me say the things they want me to say?… So, just in case, we need a code… If I say it, you know they got me, and don’t listen to nothing that I say after I say those words.”
Emphasising that the code is something he would never voluntarily say, Chappelle delivered the punchline: “The code is: I stand with Israel.”
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The clip has since gone viral, circulating across social media platforms, with pro-Palestine users hailing it as a bold stand against perceived coercion and hypocrisy in the entertainment industry amid the Gaza genocide.
“When Dave Chappelle says supporting #Israel could act as a ‘code’ for coming under pressure, it goes beyond a simple political stance. It points to a deeper influence within America’s media & cultural space, where artists hesitate before speaking,” one user said.
Dave Chappelle on corruption:
“My voice has become more powerful than I intended it to be.
We need a code…
It’s gotta be something that I can say so that if I say it you know that these n***** got me
The code word is: ‘I stand with Israel.’
Facts.
pic.twitter.com/LMBMrP8B71— ADAM (@AdameMedia) December 21, 2025
Another post featured the clip, noted Chappelle’s hint that “Israel is somehow at the center” of a conspiracy, whilst another said “Dave Chappelle just delivered the single most devastating closer in comedy history,” calling it an exposure of “total submission to a foreign power”.
Many others echoed the sentiment, adopting the phrase as their own signal of compromise.
“This should be everyone’s code. If you say ‘I stand with Israel’, it’s over. You have become enslaved to the Israeli death-cult and depraved Zionist scum,” one post read.
“Same goes for me. That’s how you’ll know you’ve got an imposter on your hands,” another user added.
However, the code has also drawn sharp criticism, with some accusing Chappelle of antisemitism for perpetuating harmful tropes about Jewish influence.
One user described it as “genuinely a scary moment to be Jewish”, arguing it shows how “mainstream this thinking has become” about Israel conspiracies.
An Iranian activist also slammed it in a post, “When you turn ‘I stand with Israel’ into a ‘code’ for being controlled, you’re not being clever, you’re feeding the exact paranoia that gets Jews attacked in the real world… SHAME ON YOU.”
Dave Chappelle’s new special is #1 on Netflix.
He closes the show by telling the audience that he needs a code word that if he says it they’ll know he’s been compromised.
“I stand with Israel.”
That is the final joke of the special.
Genuinely a scary moment to be Jewish.
— David/Dovid Bashevkin (@DBashIdeas) December 21, 2025
Earlier in the special, Chappelle mounted a fierce defence of his decision to perform at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival, directly calling out comedian Bill Maher for criticising him over perceived hypocrisy.
“I’ve known Bill since I was 18 or 19 years old, and I’ve never said this publicly, but fuck that guy. I’m so fucking tired of his little smug, cracker-ass commentary,” Chappelle said.
He continued: “These motherfuckers act like because I did a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia, I somehow betrayed my principles… They said, ‘Well, Saudi Arabia killed a journalist, and rest in peace Jamal Khashoggi. I’m sorry that he got murdered in such a heinous fashion.”
Then, turning to what he portrayed as glaring double standards, Chappelle added: “But look, bro: Israel’s killed 240 journalists in the last few months, so I didn’t know y’all were still counting.”
Jamal Kashoggi wrote for Middle East Eye and the Washington Post before he was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018.
The audience erupted in applause, and the segment has fuelled intense online discussion, with many users interpreting it as a powerful call-out of western hypocrisy on journalist killings.
Dave Chappelle on performing in Saudi Arabia:
“They said, well, Saudi Arabia killed a journalist.
I’m sorry he got murdered, period.
But, Israel’s killed 240 journalists in the last 3 months, so I didn’t know y’all was still counting.” pic.twitter.com/XXsPCMnyhF
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) December 22, 2025
One user described Chappelle as a “global treasure” who went “full savage” on Maher and his “cute genocidal state”, highlighting admiration for his unfiltered critique.
Journalist Rahiem Shabazz praised Chappelle’s “fearless truth-telling” for invoking “a grim reality too often ignored: the killing of 249 journalists by Israel, a stark reminder that some truths are buried not by silence, but by blood”, tying it directly to broader concerns over suppressed reporting from Gaza.
Another user shared the clip on X, noting Chappelle’s point that critics “focus on Saudi Arabia’s record on journalists” while staying “silent on Israel’s killing of Palestinian journalists during the genocide in Gaza”, which underscores accusations of selective outrage in western discourse.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has documented at least 249 media workers killed in Gaza since October 2023, marking the deadliest period for journalists on record.
