Chappelle Unamused By Banana Peel

Attorney Rod Thompson added for good measure that his client, Christian Englander, is not a racist. The comments were made to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper after a July 13 status hearing in the case stemming from the March incident. Englander admits throwing a banana peel after taking offense to jokes made by Chappelle about his companion.

He is also a self-described eccentric who works as a disc jockey and a performance artist. He reportedly showed up to court in a conservative blue suit accentuated by a loud tie, multicolored house slippers and hair dyed yellow and orange. Curiously, considering Chappelle is one of the biggest draws in comedy, prosecutors haven’t found any other witnesses to the incident or other people who have filed complaints about it, Thompson said.

It’s incumbent upon the state to interview Chappelle, even if by telephone, for the case, he said. Englander said there has been a “character disintegration” campaign against him since the incident and throwing the banana peel at Chappelle was “social satire” and not racist. Several days after the Chappelle incident, Englander was accused of throwing a banana peel at another black man in Santa Fe following a fight between the two at a downtown bar. No charges have been filed in that second incident, Santa Fe police said.