Comedian Dave Chappelle on Tuesday endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang and announced he will headline a pair of shows in South Carolina in support of Yang.
“I’m Yang Gang!” Chappelle declared.
The comedian will perform two shows in support of Yang, the formerly little known tech entrepreneur who has managed to outlast several of his competitors and currently polls at 3 percent, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls. The shows will take place on January 29 and 30 in Columbia and North Charleston, South Carolina.
“Dave’s team reached out to our team, and they were thrilled to put the two of us together,” Yang said. “We sat down and talked about his concerns for the country and what we need to do to for the next generation. Dave’s a dad like I am. And then after we met, he said, ‘Look, I want to help, and what can I do to help?’”
“I am super indebted to Dave,” the 2020 Democratic contender added. “I can’t wait to help make this case to the country, that we can do better for ourselves and our kids than we are doing right now.”
Yang has surprised observers of his campaign by outlasting several more traditional candidates, including Democratic Senators Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey. The businessman and universal income proponent enjoyed strong fundraising numbers during the last quarter of 2019, pulling in $16.5 million.
Chappelle most recently made headlines in September for his controversial Netflix comedy stand-up special “Sticks and Stones,” which unelashed a wave of criticism against him in response to his transgender-related material.
Yang has snagged the celebrity support as well of actor Donald Glover, who joined the campaign last month as a creative consultant.