Chanel Ali: Break Up With Your Dad

Directed by Ryan Cunningham

“If you can break up with your dad, you can break up with anyone.”

In 2023 Chanel starred in a commercial produced by Kevin Hart for 23 & Me, a popular DNA and genetics company. That commercial opportunity led her to a shocking revelation: she had a 30-year-old brother whom she had never heard of. After connecting with her new brother, Chanel realizes they have the same father, an award winning, handsome, community hero police officer who seems wholly unable to accept the idea that his past has caught up to him.

Break Up With Your Dad details Chanel’s tumultuous foster care childhood, her mother’s untimely slip into schizophrenia, and a court ordered paternity test that led her to meet her cop dad when she was 18 years old. Despite her rough childhood, Chanel details how these experiences prepared her to take on the New York City comedy scene with bravado, confidence, and an unwavering spirit which led her to two Comedy Central specials, an hour special, multiple tv commercial appearances and more. When she gets a call for a commercial produced by Kevin Hart, it’s no surprise. When she gets her family tree, she’s more surprised than she’s ever been. Facing her childhood made Chanel fearless enough to conquer New York City entertainment and wild enough to confront her father after DNA evidence proved his misdeeds.

Break Up With Your Dad aims to answer the question: When will it end? When will the generations before us take accountability for their mistakes? When will they be able to face the music? Why did Kevin Hart set this all up?

“Such a compelling and empowering story told with wit, wisdom and achingly funny jokes.” -- Christine Walters (former Creative Director for Just For Laughs Festival)

Chanel Ali is known for her commanding stage presence and storyteller-like style. She was a Just For Laughs New Face in 2019, she has comedy specials on Comedy Central, Epix, Starz and more. She was featured in an episode of the Netflix series Dash and Lily, she starred in the tv comedy game show The Great American Joke Off, produced by Dan Patterson, and she can drink way more than you can.

Presented by the New York Comedy Festival

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