Chappelle also talked about Prince and his SNL appearance in a new interview.

Earlier this month, US comic hero Dave Chappelle announced his return to comedy with two forthcoming stand-up specials culled from his personal vault.

Soundtracked by A Tribe Called Quest’s ‘We The People’, the trailer for the specials landed this week. Deep in the Heart of Texas and The Age of Spin, taken from a 2015 Chappelle performance in Austin and a 2016 show in LA respectively, are due to drop on Netflix on Tuesday (March 21). Ahead of their arrival, Chappelle spoke to the New York Times, in which he discussed everything from his recent deal with Netflix to Donald Trump and Bill Cosby.

“It’s fun to see everybody back,” said Chappelle, commenting on the recent re-emergence of other US comedians like Chris Rock. “But the whole Trump thing makes it harder for comedians,” he offered. “He’s so skewed, it’s hard to find an angle that sounds fresh. If you talk about him, it’s almost like you’re part of the chorus and not a soloist.”

Asked about his feelings on ‘childhood idol’ Bill Cosby – who is set to go on trial for sexual assault in June – Chappelle said: “The Bill Cosby thing was tough for me. I’m not saying that to detract from his alleged victims at all. But he was a hero of mine.”

He continued: “So many bad things happened to our heroes: Muhammad Ali had Parkinson’s; Richard Pryor had M.S.; Prince died too young. And Bill just looked like one of the guys who was going to get to the finish line and just die of old age. And this happened. Jesus Christ. It’s awful.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Chappelle described Prince as “very generous with his advice” and “very generous with his access,” while revealing that he received vital words of advice from fellow comedian Louis C.K. the night prior to his US election-riffing SNL sketch last November.

Chappelle also revealed that he is working on a third special for Netflix, as part of the three-deal special, which is due to air later this year.