Neal Brennan Says He & Dave Chappelle Were Told "Why Do We Need You When We Have Chris Rock" While Pitching 'Chappelle's Show'

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Brennan spoke about his relationship with Chappelle while the latter received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center on Sunday night.

Dave Chappelle received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center on Sunday night. During the honoring, Chappelle gave an impromptu speech where he spoke about his impactful career in comedy, saying that it "Saved my live," according to USA Today.

READ: The 20 Best 'Chappelle's Show' Sketches Of all Time

The event also featured a handful of celebrities speaking on Chappelle and the impact he has had on their lives, one of them being Neal Brennan, who co-created Chappelle's Show alongside Chappelle.

Brennan first spoke of how the pair created Half Baked, with Chappelle calling him at the time saying, "Hey, if Universal reaches out to you, tell them we're writing a weed movie together."

"Cut to January of 1998, Half Baked opened against Good Will Hunting, Wag the dog, As Good As It Gets, and oh, yeah, Titanic!" Brennan said. "It was a critical and commercial flop and, quite frankly, isn't very good."

From there, he proceeded to talk about some of the resistance he and Chappelle faced while pitching Chappelle's Show.

"Why do we need you when we have Chris Rock?" Brennan recalled someone telling them. "See, back then, there could only be one popular black comedian at a time. Unlike today, when there could be three."

Chappelle's Mark Twain Prize honoring will air on PBS January 7, 2020.

Source: USA Today