Stand-up comic — and Dave Chapelle side-kick — Donnell Rawlings kept his sense of humor as he was released after a night in a Manhattan holding cell on misdemeanor drunk driving charges, joking that this was the first, and last, time he’ll do a command performance behind bars.
“The next time you see me play this character, hopefully, it’s on Law and Order,” he quipped Friday afternoon as he left Manhattan Criminal Court with a small group of pals.
Rawlings, 43, was busted at 4 a.m. Friday for allegedly driving drunk — and the wrong way — on a one-way Midtown street.
He blew a .12 in a breath test, well above the .08 limit, according to the complaint against him.
Prosecutors say Rawlings had bloodshot eyes, smelled of alcohol, and said, “I’m sorry; I’m sorry,” as police approached his car.
“I think as an African American anytime you see police lights and coming toward you say sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry,” he quipped to reporters after a judge sprang him without bail.
He returns to court August 8 on the charges, which carry a maximum of one year jail.
Rawlings was apparently a hit with his fellow detainees, who he said gave him a standing ovation as he left the holding cell to be brought before the judge. “I heard, ‘Go Ashy Larry! We love you!” he recalled, referring to the character he played on Comedy Central’s Chapelle’s Show.
Asked if he’d made any jokes to cops, Rawlings noted, “That’s the worst time to ever do stand up — when you’re apprehended by the police.”