Dave Chappelle Claims He's Being Shunned In Hollywood Over His Past 'Trans Jokes'

Dave Chappelle has claimed that he's been "snubbed" by popular award shows because of his controversial jokes about the transgender community.

The comedian was, however, honored with the President's Award at this year's NAACP Image Awards, praising the organizers for "chipping away at this industry."

Dave Chappelle noted how the organization has played a major role in the success stories of Black entertainers in Hollywood.

Chappelle finally got to screen his COVID-era documentary "Dave Chappelle: Live in Real Life" at the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival on Friday night.

The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2021 under its original title, "Dave Chappelle: This Time, This Place," failed to gain traction after he came under fire for making transphobic jokes in his 2021 stand-up special, "The Closer."

Now, 4 years later, Chappelle claims he has been "snubbed" by the Grammys and Emmys because of the punchline.

"I've gone on to get snubbed by the Grammys and the Emmys because someone thought it was a good idea to tell trans jokes," he said, per Variety.

Chappelle threw several digs at transgender people in his Netflix special, sparking a tense backlash from the LGBTQ+ community.

At the time, several Netflix employees reportedly protested the special, further marring it in the controversy that seemingly prevented it from gaining distribution.

At the filming on Friday, the Grammy winner also weighed in on those poorly received jokes as he addressed the audience.

"It took a lot of courage for all of those comedians to come out there because COVID was so new. Everyone was still so isolated, and it was real fear," Chappelle said as he was quizzed by the audience during the post-screening talkback.

He continued, "And the other thing is, no one had worked in a hundred nights. Everyone stunk when they got there, but it didn't matter. It was so much fun to be together again. It was just like when we all started in the comedy club, we realized how much we loved being around each other."

Chappelle hosted the summer shows in 2020 with musicians and fellow comedians at his community in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

The show, which featured familiar faces like Kevin Hart, David Letterman, Jon Hamm, The Roots, and Chris Rock, came as part of Chappelle's efforts to raise funds for his alma mater, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C.

According to Variety, proceeds from the ticket sales have been donated to the institution, which Chappelle has often credited for changing his life.

"Ellington gave me a sense of community," he said. "It was a predominantly Black school when I went there, and that was important because everything in the news was so negative."

The film also detailed how Chappelle's shows had a favorable economic impact on his community.

The shows not only brought people together who were struggling in isolation, but also contributed $9 million to the town's economy.

"If you want things to change, you have to change sh-t," Chappelle noted.

Despite the backlash that trailed his Netflix special, Chappelle has continued to receive nominations and awards, as he was honored with the President's Award at the NAACP Image Awards earlier this year.

During his speech, he began by thanking the organization for its efforts over the years and encouraged his colleagues to keep working to tell their stories.

He then went further to explain why the award was more important to him than the others he has won, which include Grammys and Emmys.

"I won a lot of awards recently, but this one tonight is probably the most special award I've ever gotten, because it's from this institution that represents these people, us, people of color, black people," he said, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Chappelle commended the NAACP for its work in Hollywood and how they've been instrumental in improving the representation of black people's stories.

"They have been chipping away at this industry so that people like me can stand up in front of people and tell my story or our stories," he said.

Chappelle continued, "Each and every artist in here, every opportunity we get, every time we're on camera, on stage, we just keep chipping away at this monster of a machine. But tonight, man, tonight, I feel invigorated."

He went on to joke that his mood was "because all my Netflix checks cleared. I don't owe anybody any work. Every time you see me, just know I'm only up there because I want to be right up there."