Several LGBTQ+ organizations and high-profile celebrities have expressed their grievances over Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix special called “The Closer”. GLAAD released a statement stating that Chappelle has created a brand synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities. “Dear White People” Executive Producer Jaclyn Moore is transgender and offended at Chappelle’s special. Moore says they used to be a Chappelle fan but no longer. The million-dollar question here is, what exactly did Dave Chappelle do to garner such a negative reaction from so many LGBTQ+ people and groups?
This is actually an ongoing problem that started many years ago. Chappelle recalled a show sixteen years ago in Oakland, California where he began telling some jokes about transgender people. Someone in the audience got upset, stood up, and started to scream at Chappelle. The person was livid and beyond offended. Everything the person was saying wound up in the newspaper a short time after that night. Dave mentioned one thing the person said that stood out was this idea of “punching down”. Meaning, Dave was on a higher level than those he was making jokes about. “The Closer” appears to be a special that seeks to put that notion to rest. Nobody is above getting made fun of in a comedic sense. Comedy is not inherently mean-spirited or designed to be hurtful. It is just comedy.
Rapper “DaBaby” recently found himself in hot water for similar reasons as Dave Chappelle. DaBaby made some remarks that could be interpreted as “homophobic” at the “Rolling Loud” concert. This set off a nearly devastating chain of events. The popular rapper was forced to apologize to the LGBTQ community on numerous occasions. He has received counsel from several HIV/AIDS organizations. Numerous shows that he was scheduled to perform on cancelled. A clothing line that partnered with DaBaby wound up cancelling that deal. The list goes on. All Dave Chappelle did was support him (and others such as Kevin Hart and J.K. Rowling) by telling a few jokes. Ultimately, Dave Chappelle’s purpose is to drive the point home about “cancel culture” being a toxic ideology. Comedy is comedy and people are people.
SOURCES:
Dave Chappelle Slammed by GLAAD for ‘The Closer’ Trans Jokes | IndieWire
Rapper DaBaby CANCELLED Over “ANTI-LGBT” Lyrics. HYPOCRISY? – YouTube
Dave Chappelle Flummoxed That DaBaby Was ‘Canceled’ for Homophobic Remarks, But Not Shooting a Man
DaBaby on 6 Armed Men Breaking into His Home, Shooting One of Them (Part 4) – YouTube
Dave Chappelle Slammed by GLAAD for ‘The Closer’ Trans Jokes | IndieWire
Dave Chappelle Talks Cancel Culture After Netflix Special Controversy – The Hollywood Reporter
Jaclyn Moore on Boycotting Netflix Over Dave Chappelle Special – Variety
Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix special, ‘The Closer,’ uses comedy to veil bigotry : NPR
Dave Chappelle draws criticism for doubling down on jokes about the LGBTQ community – The Washington Post
Dave Chappelle Backed by Family of Late Transgender Comedian Daphne Dorman From ‘The Closer’
