DAVE CHAPPELLE - CHAPPELLE SHOWERED WITH MONEY AT GIG

CHAPPELLE SHOWERED WITH MONEY AT GIG

Elusive comedian DAVE CHAPPELLE was showered with $100 bills at a Los Angeles comedy club, by fans desperate for him to return to TV. Chappelle has been rarely seen since he walked away from a $50 million (GBP25 million) contract with network Comedy Central last year (06) and turned his back on showbiz. The 33-year-old has begun making guest appearances at L.A.'s Laugh Factory, and stretched a 20 minute set to over two hours on Monday (04Jun07) when fans begged him to carry on and showered him with money. He told the crowd, "I'm like Bigfoot now. People can't believe they're seeing me. They see me and just flip out," reports the New York Post. Chappelle - who has vowed to give the money to charity - also offered support to Seinfeld star Michael Richards, who caused outrage last year after a racist outburst on the same stage. He said, "I learned I'm only 20 per cent black and 80 per cent comedian because black people were like, 'That b**tard!' - but comics, we were like, 'The dude's having a bad set. Hang in there, Kramer!'"