Dave Chappelle

[estebones]

Wed May 11, 8:18 PM ET
He hasn't been seen on set for weeks. His hit show has been shut down. His friends are speculating on various reasons for his purported meltdown.

Now comes word that Dave Chappelle is undergoing treatment in a psychiatric facility in South Africa.

Quoting an unnamed source "close to the situation," Entertainment Weekly said Wednesday that the comedian flew to South Africa late last month and voluntarily checked himself into the undisclosed facility. There is no word on the nature of his ailment or how long he will be hospitalized.

Sources confirmed to E! last week that Chappelle had been a no-show at work for several days. On May 4, Comedy Central abruptly announced Chappelle's Show wouldn't make its May 31 third season launch and that production had been halted indefinitely

"All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future," network spokesman Tony Fox said in a statement.

Chappelle's publicist, Matt Labov, has not publicly commented since Chappelle disappeared.

The entertainer reportedly flew from Newark, New Jersey, to Capetown, South Africa, on Apr. 28 to seek treatment.

The EW report trumps earlier speculation in the latest edition of Newsweek. Several unnamed friends of the entertainer posited different theories explaining his absence to the newsmag. One said Chappelle "freaked" and didn't know how to deal with the breakout success of Chappelle's Show, which has become a full-blown pop-culture phenomenon and led to Chappelle signing an unprecedented $50 million contract last summer. The deal came in the wake of the sketch comedy's record-setting first-season DVD sales.

Another acquaintance alluded to the Half-Baked star's partying. "I wouldn't say it's out of control," the purported pal dished to Newsweek, "but at some point that has to affect you if you've got a regular gig." Chappelle's camp has categorically denied he was abusing drugs.

A third suggested in Newsweek that Chappelle had creative differences with Comedy Central over the direction of the show. Chappelle reportedly wanted to push the boundaries of his comedy, with some racially provocative sketches, but the network had resisted.

A source close to the production tells E! that Chappelle had finished nearly five episodes for the new season before going AWOL. The season got off to a bumpy start late last year when Comedy Central announced it was moving back the debut from February to May, saying Chappelle had been unable to stockpile enough scripts due to an illness.

With the show's future suddenly in doubt, Comedy Central and corporate sibling Paramount are hoping to plug the Chappelle gap in the meantime with the release of the second-season DVD collection on May 24.[/b]

He had a breakdown because he coudntl deal with fame ? wtf??? I think he's just sitting at some resort smoking that good cambodian chiva!

[imported_myculito]

Well, at least we know why they suspended the making of season 3.

[98ex2286]

yea thats pretty crazy. but fame can be stressful i guess

[imported_Kyle_G]

and again.. its all speculated. who really knows.

[estebones]

he's just sitting at some resort smoking that good african chiva![/b]

[imported_comutek]

weird. i totally don't see that in him but a lot of comedians have psychological issues.

[imported_mntdewred]

hard to say its a promotional stunt when the guy is as popular as he is, so maybe it is real. thats really unfortunate if it is

[Bryan_M]

i kinda find that hard to believe but i guess ya never know. it wouldn't surprise me if he was just doing it as a joke though.

[imported_mntdewred]

Originally posted by Bryan_M@May 12 2005, 05:36 PM
i kinda find that hard to believe but i guess ya never know. it wouldn't surprise me if he was just doing it as a joke though.

his show isn't called Punk'd, so I don't see why he would make a joke about this. but ya never know

[Bryan_M]

he's pretty crazy...i wouldn't put it past him.