Dave Chappelle Kicks Off New Netflix Special By Attacking Trans People Despite Past Backlash

Stand-up comic Dave Chappelle doubled down on jokes about trans people in his newly released comedy special, "The Dreamer."

The comedian's decision to include such jokes in the comedy special comes after he previously faced severe backlash for his last Netflix show, "The Closer."

Chappelle's latest Netflix special is bound to draw mixed reactions from audiences, as the comedian opened the show with jokes targeted at the LGBTQ+ community.

"The Dreamer" premiered on the streaming platform on December 31. The show mostly centers on Chappelle's formative years in show business and how he achieved fame. However, the comedian used the first twelve minutes of the set to attack transgender individuals.

According to Variety, Chappelle started the show by sharing an encounter he had with actor Jim Carrey on the set of the 1999 film "Man on the Moon." Carrey famously embodied the role of the comedian Andy Kaufman in the movie by method acting.

Chappelle then stated that he was "very disappointed" interacting with Carrey while he was pretending to be Kaufman, claiming that that is "how trans people make [him] feel."

Following his brief recollection of his encounter with Carrey, the comedian then went on to speak about the uproar over his anti-trans jokes.

He said, "If you guys came here to this show tonight thinking that I'm going to make fun of those people again, you've come to the wrong show. I'm not f------ with those people anymore. It wasn't worth the trouble. I ain't saying s--- about them. Maybe three or four times tonight, but that's it. I'm tired of talking about them. And you want to know why I'm tired of talking about them? Because these people acted like I needed them to be funny."

"Well, that's ridiculous. I don't need you. I got a whole new angle coming. You guys will never see this s-- coming. I ain't doing trans jokes no more," Chappelle added.

Then, he declared that he was going to switch to making jokes about "handicapped" individuals as "they're not as organized as the gays. And [he loves] punching down."

Shortly after, Chappelle brought up trans people again, claiming that he had been trying to fix his relationship with them.

"To be honest with you, I've been trying to repair my relationship with the transgender community cause I don't want them to think that I don't like them. You know how I've been repairing it? I wrote a play. I did. Cause I know that gays love plays," Chappelle said, per Variety.

He continued, "It's a very sad play, but it's moving. It's about a Black transgender woman whose pronoun is, sadly, n----. It's a tear-jerker. At the end of the play, she dies of loneliness cause white liberals don't know how to speak to her. It's sad."

In another segment, he joked that if he were to ever go to jail, he hoped it would be in California and that as soon as he is sentenced, he would tell the judge to send him to a women's prison because he suddenly identifies as a woman.

Chappelle joked," 'Before you sentence me, I want the court to know I identify as a woman. Send me to a woman's jail.' As soon I get in there, you know what I'mma be doing. 'Give me your fruit cocktail, b----, before I knock your motherf------ teeth out. I'm a girl, just like you, b----. Come here and suck this girl d--- I got. Don't make me explain myself. I'm a girl.'"

Still in his stand-up comedy special, Chappelle recalled being attacked at the Hollywood Bowl in 2022 and how he tried to calm down the intense moment by joking that his attacker was a trans man.

According to him, his audience didn't take the joke too well, as they allegedly booed him for it, saying, "'Boo. It's L.A., we like trans people.'"

Chappelle previously came under fire for his anti-trans jokes in his comedy special, "The Closer." In 2021, there were calls for Netflix to cut ties with the comedian and not air his show on their platform, but the company stood by Chappelle, stating that his jokes did not "cross the line of hate."

In a memo, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos defended their stance, despite threats from staff to quit the company,

He said at the time, "Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don't allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don't believe 'The Closer' crosses that line."