Chappelle comments during this special have been called controversial for a number of reasons. Chappelle states that he was getting tired of people approaching all his jokes in a negative manner and will be taking another break from comedy after his long awaited return to the stage.
The special opens with the song, "Killing Me Softly" by Roberta Flack. Dave Chappelle's first hour-long stand-up special was titled "Killin' Them Softly."
Stan Lathan was nominated for the 2018 Emmy Award in the Outstanding Directing For A Variety Special category for Dave Chappelle: Equanimity (2017), but lost to Glenn Weiss for The Oscars (2018).