Cancel Culture Targets Dave Chappelle Over Transphobic Jokes
By TheBlast Staff on October 7, 2021 at 10:16 PM EDT
Updated on October 7, 2021 at 10:16 PM EDT
Dave Chappelle must have known that he was going to get here sooner rather than later. The comedian has been running jokes on members of the LGBTQ+ community for years. Particularly jokes surrounding transgenders. His latest Netflix special titled, “The Closer” features another set dedicated to the subject. This time around the comedian is taking a ton of criticism. Particularly for the way that he talks about the transgender community. So much so that different organizations have already called for the special to be removed from Netflix.
What Chappelle Did This Time Around
As we mentioned Dave has included bits about the LGBTQ+ pretty much in each of his last Netflix specials. This time around though he talked about how members of the community had become extra sensitive. Compared to how they were in the past. Also, he mentioned that as a member of the black community he envied the progress that the LGBTQ+ community was able to make. Part of his bit mentions,
“I’m not that fond of these newer gays. Too sensitive. Too brittle. Those aren’t the gays I grew up with . . . They fought for their freedom. I respect that s – – t.”
Putting Two Minority Groups At Odds With Each Other
Potentially one of the things that bothered a lot of people was the fact that he essentially pitted the LGBTQ+ community against the African American community. This is where he talked about being jealous of the progress that the community has made. The point he made probably rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, and it may not be something many of those folks are looking to hear in a comedy special. It kind of seems like he’s got a point though. Dave mentioned,
“Oh, I’m jealous. I’m not the only black person that feels this way. We look at the gay community, we go, ‘God**** it — look at how well that movement is going! Look at how well you are doing.’ And we’ve been trapped in this predicament for hundreds of years. How the f – – k are you making that kind of progress?”
The Criticism
Different media groups and organizations are calling for the special to be pulled. Critics from NPR news labeled the special not funny, at all, with Dave trying too hard to push his jokes on the controversial subject. GLAAD, which is an organization that was literally created to police these types of situations in the media, has also been critical of the way that Dave Chappelle expresses himself. They claim that the negative reviews on Dave’s latest special are certainly warranted. Twitter got reactions from fans on both sides of the argument. With the offended party calling for the special to be removed from the streaming service.
https://twitter.com/glaad/status/1445870767548231685
Netflix Is Probably Not Going To Budge
So far neither Netflix nor Dave Chappelle have publicly made a statement on the matter. The special however is the last one that both Chappelle and the streaming service had agreed upon in a multi-million dollar deal. Potentially the criticism could affect Dave’s negotiation power. As he potentially seeks to ink a new deal with the streaming service. Dave did win 3 Grammys in a row for his last couple of specials. Even though those programs were rated poorly by Netflix users. Therefore, this may just be something that Netflix is used to with Dave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1UEj_6T1RE