Ahead of Charlotte shows, ‘Chappelle’s Show’ comic weighs in on Kevin Hart roast
Donnell Rawlings is perfectly happy to talk about Charlotte and his upcoming shows this weekend at The Comedy Zone.
But at the moment, if you really want to fire up the 57-year-old comedian and actor best known for his breakout role as Ashy Larry on “Chappelle’s Show,” ask him about Netflix’s recent “The Roast of Kevin Hart” and the backlash surrounding some of its most controversial jokes.
“Roast means fire. Fire means somebody’s gonna get burnt,” he said.
Rawlings — who called CharlotteFive this week from the set of a secret TV series that he says will feature him in a dramatic role audiences “aren’t going to expect” — had more to say about roast culture, stand-up comedy’s current boom, social media comics and why he believes he’s as responsible for “Chappelle’s Show’s” success as it is for his.
The conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Q. What is it about stand-up that keeps you interested when you do have opportunities like — whatever it is — TV or film work?
Well, what keeps me interested in stand-up is that I refuse to get a therapist. (Laughing.) This is my couch. It’s my sofa.
But the thing that really keeps me going with stand-up is I always try to elevate, always try to evolve in some sense, whether it’s the material I choose to use, whether it’s my appearance, how I connect with the audience. After 30 years, I’m still passionate about stand-up. I still get the same jitters as I did when I did my first open mic.
I still feel like I got a chip on my shoulder and I have something to prove.
Q. Stand-up comedy seems to be booming. Shane Gillis was here earlier this spring, Chelsea Handler was here a couple weeks ago, Nikki Glaser is coming in August, the Kevin Hart roast was on the other night. Why do you think comedy’s doing so well right now?
Because there’s so many troubles and problems in the world. You need somebody to make fun of it.
My good friend Dave Chappelle said, “Donnell, it’s our job to make fun of things that trouble the world.” We live in a society now where every day there’s something crazy that happens, and you need someone to speak on it. And comedians are the last truth tellers.
I think when we deal with problems, you can do it in a serious fashion. You can do it in a lot of different ways. But there’s something about adding humor to things that trouble us that’s interesting to people.
Q. Speaking of the roast, there was of course a lot of backlash afterward (mainly regarding jokes made about the deaths of Charlie Kirk and George Floyd). What did you think of it?
I think that this world is overly sensitive. I think you should almost be able to joke about anything.
There’s a phrase that I say: A joke can be too soon, but it never can be too soon for a funny observation. If it’s not your style of comedy, that’s one thing. But you saying it’s not funny, that’s your opinion. The next person might say it’s funny.
Do people take low blows on roasts? Yes. They do. Now, if there’s some people telling these jokes at a church service, that would be one thing. If you were telling some of these jokes at somebody’s wedding, that’d be another thing. But you know when you go into a roast, they’re gonna go hard. It’s a roast. Roast means fire. Fire means somebody’s gonna get burnt.
And I’m pretty sure when they got in the writing room, everybody knew which joke was gonna go viral, which joke was gonna get the most engagement, which joke people were gonna get offended by. And guess what they said? “(Expletive) it. I’m gonna do it.”
Q. Do you think social media has changed what audiences expect from stand-up?
The gift of it is that you don’t have to wait to make yourself popular or relevant. You don’t have to wait to get approved by everybody. You can build your own brand and build your own startup with your phone.
It’s so hard to tell a new comic or a social media guy that’s got 3 million followers — that’s making, like, $40,000-$50,000 a month — to tell them to work on their act. They’re gonna be like, “For what?” Ultimately, you want to get to the money.
But when I started, I wanted all those things. I wanted the money, I wanted the women, I wanted the celebrity. But I didn’t want that off of, like, one joke. I’m a comedy purist. I’m a comedian’s comedian. I really believe in it. The most important thing for me was: If I get good at this, I’ll have all the things I want. But now you don’t have to get good at it to be successful anymore.
Social media (comics), they can go bomb and then go do a sketch and make $10,000 off of content. So there’s no incentive for them to get good unless you really love it, and a lot of them don’t.
Q. Does that make you irritated?
No, it just makes me separate myself from those people and lets you know: This is what the real deal is. It makes me feel confident that, OK, go see your favorite social media or your favorite TikTok person — but I guarantee you, if you put them on the stage with me, it’s a whole different ballgame.
Q. And lastly, in terms of your legacy with “Chappelle’s Show,” looking back, what do you think the show changed for you beyond fame itself?
I get this question, or something similar to it, all the time: “If it wasn’t for the Dave Chappelle show, who would know you?” Blah, blah, this and that. But I think it was an even exchange. Dave hand-picked people he wanted to work with, and those people helped him create something that some people call one of the greatest shows in the history of television. And Dave Chappelle’s show gave me a platform for people to see what I’ve been doing for years and how I could be good at this.
He gave me the platform. It wasn’t like he gave me the platform and I sucked. He gave me the platform and I hit home runs. I hit a three-pointer with zero seconds left on the clock.
See Donnell Rawlings in Charlotte
Where: The Comedy Zone, 900 NC Music Factory Blvd., Suite B3, Charlotte NC 28206
When: 7 and 9:45 p.m. Friday and 6 and 8:45 p.m. Saturday.
Details: cltcomedyzone.com or (980) 321-4702
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 8:57 AM.
