The Chappelle Theory
A little while ago, an e-mail with a link to a website called The Chappelle Theory arrived in our inbox. We spent the next 45 minutes devouring the whole thing, and it's either the single most paranoid screed or the best straight-faced satire we've ever read. Here's how it begins:
This account of Dave Chappelle's fall from grace has been pieced together by me, a retired public relations executive who wishes to remain anonymous. my contacts, many of whom were closely related to the individuals involved, enabled me to fairly accurately recount the events that took place. You can take this for what you wish, but it is the truth — the abhorrent byproduct of the industry I used to hold to such a high esteem.
I have written this account without the need for embellishments or exaggerations for the truth is appalling enough. Let this site serve as a drawn curtain to the entertainment industry which is blindly adored by the entire world.
What follows is pages upon (nicely designed, oddly) pages about the efforts of the "dark crusaders," a nefarious collection of prominent African-Americans (Al Sharpton! Louis Farrakhan! Bill Cosby! Oprah Winfrey! ...Whoopi Goldberg?) who were hell-bent on scaring Dave Chappelle into discontinuing Chappelle's Show. We did some digging around and still don't know whether to laugh or tighten our tinfoil helmets, but if you've ever secretly felt that Oprah was sending you messages through her TV show (or feared she might might show up with thugs and threaten you in the bathroom), it might be best to sit this one out.
