Who killed the Dave Chappelle show?

The funniest show on television, Chappelle's Show, featuring Dave Chappelle, ended in a well-publicized flame-out this year, and it left everyone wondering what the hell happened. People say Dave went crazy, other people say white executives banned all Dave's funny ideas, next thing you Dave is in Afica, and suddenly he's like the Charles Foster Kane of comedy - a recluse with a lot of money and a lot of mystery.

So what happened? Well, according to the incredibly well-documented website called The Chappelle Theory, the whole thing is a result of a wealthy cabal of black celebrities. The theory states that this group, which includes Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Louis Farrakhan, Bill Cosby, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey and Robert L. Johnson, had helped Dave Chappelle in various ways over the years to become a success but became increasingly concerned over the actor's portrayal of African-Americans on his show. Eventually, they launched a full fledged secret war on Chappelle, complete with threatening phone calls, mysterious packages, and eventual threats against Chappelle and his family. The theory is incredibly detailed and seems to have insider information into the inner workings of Chappelle's career and personal life.

Seriously? Bill Cosby is making death threats? Say, something sounds fishy here.Turns out however, that the whole thing may be a piece of satirical gorilla marketing genius by the head of Chappelle's Show, producer/writer Neal Brennan. After spending about 20 minutes reading through the whole theory in amazement thinking, "oh man, this makes sense. I hate Bill Cosby," the last page is a promo shot for a forthcoming (spring '06) short film called The Chappelle Theory Exposed, starring Charlie Murphy, a former player on the show, and written by Brennan. There are two links on the site, one to view a trailer for the film and one to watch an interview with Charlie Murphy. Both currently do not seem to work.

But then, I'm like "Wait a minute. Neal Brennan and Charlie Murphy? Haven't they already moved on to successful careers themselves? Charlie Murphy is in Roll Bounce right now, and has 4 movies coming out this year. Neal Brennan is in post-production on a movie he wrote and directed. Why would either of these guys be dealing with this now, when they are clearly on their own way?"

It doesn't add up. And it takes what was already a weird story and makes it a LOT weirder. Stay tuned for more details, kids. Uncle Lindsay's gonna make some phone calls.

UPDATE: So I made some calls, people asked me what the hell I was talking about, and by the time I got back to the site, it now had BULLSHIT now marked across it in large letters, and this disclaimer had been added. Seems a couple of lawyers of some of the people mentioned on the site (who, coincidentally, are some of the most litigious people on the planet) had also made some phone calls. Problem solved. Back to the original story where Dave just freaked out and smoked too much dope. Whew. I feel much better.