SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: Dave Chappelle blasted San Francisco's homeless crisis during a recent gig in the Golden Gate City. "What the f*** happened to this place?" Chappelle said, telling the people gathered at the Masonic Auditorium that he saw a homeless person defecating outside an Indian restaurant he had planned to eat at.
The 49-year-old comedian said the city had turned into a "half 'Glee,' half zombie movie," according to SFGATE's review of the show. He added that it had turned into the Tenderloin, a district of San Francisco that is infamous for its crime, homelessness, and drug problems. "Y'all [expletive] need a Batman!" Chappelle said. Chappelle performed the last-minute show without any special guests.
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San Francisco's homeless crisis
An estimated 38,000 people in San Francisco are homeless any given night, Daily Mail reports. This means it is a 35 percent increase since 2019. There has recently been a rise in overdose deaths among the city's homeless people. In the first quarter of 2023, the city witnessed a 41 percent surge in the number of drug-related deaths compared to the same time last year. Between January and March, 200 people died due to overdoses. Compared to this year, there were 142 deaths in 2022, recent data from the city's medical examiner revealed.
About half an hour into Chappelle's show, which took place last week, the audience started yelling questions at him. Some even asked for his thoughts on the homeless person who got sprayed with a hose by a man. He engaged with the audience and asked for details on the incident, in which former San Francisco fire commissioner Don Carmignani was brutally beaten by a homeless man. It was later revealed that Carmignani had sprayed homeless people with bear spray in the years before the attack on various occasions.
'Maybe he hurt some feelings but he wasn’t lying'
Social media users agreed with Chappelle, with one user commenting on Facebook, "A lot of poignant commentary that address the social woes were experiencing. I was at the show and found him witty and on point." Another said, "I agree, I’ve lived here my whole life, and don’t like what has happened in the city, something needs to be done to help the situation, drugs and homelessness need to be addressed." "He definitely speaks his mind. SF is not the same place I knew and loved when I lived there from 1989-92 while attending SFSU. It’s dramatically changed for the worse," wrote a user. "He is right. San Francisco was an amazing place to visit especially on Embarcadero, now you just see homeless camps in specific areas of the street. Car break-ins most likely didn’t even make the news and now they do. Even a YouTuber called it the car break-in capital. If I was the mayor I would be so embarrassed," one user said. "He is 100 percent right about the disgrace SF has become! Oakland is just as bad!" one user said, while another wrote, "I love the city. But those on here denying that it’s went to hell are in denial." One wrote, "He’s not wrong. Maybe he hurt some feelings but he wasn’t lying about any of it."
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