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American comedian Dave Chappelle recently came under fire for making several transphobic comments on his Netflix special show The Closer. Although the comedian has often made controversial remarks about the community, his latest show caused huge outrage on social media.
In the 70-minute long episode, the comedian discussed how “Gender is a fact” and jokingly called himself “transphobic” multiple times during the act. He compared transgender women to white people who use blackface and mentioned that being trans is similar to Rachel Dolezal calling herself African-American.
The Grammy Award winner also mentioned that he was once “tricked” into calling a trans woman beautiful and misgendered people of the community throughout his speech. He even supported J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans comments and called himself a member of “Team TERF” (the acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist).
Following the release of the special, Dave Chappelle faced severe backlash on social media. Several activists and members of the transgender community called out the comedian for his actions. The situation also created an outcry within Netflix. Many also asked the streaming giant to remove the show from the platform.
On October 20, hundreds of Netflix employees, especially people belonging to the community, staged a walkout protest against the show and criticized the company for being unresponsive to the situation.
Dave Chappelle’s 'The Closer' act leaves the internet divided
Dave Chappelle has continued to make news over the past few weeks due to his comments on trans women in The Closer. His remarks related to the community were deemed to be offensive and transphobic.
In response to his comments, Netflix employee Terra Field shared a viral thread on Twitter criticizing the show and explaining why the statements were considered offensive.
Meanwhile, Jaclyn Moore, creator of Dear White People, officially announced her departure from Netflix stating she would not return to the platform until it refrains from profiting off “transphobic content”.
David Johns, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition, also requested Netflix to remove the special, writing an open letter to Deadline:
“With 2021 on track to be the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States—the majority of whom are Black transgender people—Netflix should know better. Perpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence.”
Dave Chappelle was also called out by GLAAD for his offensive statements against the community:
“Dave Chappelle’s brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities. Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don’t support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree.”
Several social media users also flocked to Twitter to slam the award-winning performer for his latest show:
Amid the plethora of criticism, some people also came to Dave Chappelle’s defense and tweeted in support of the comedian’s remarks:
Despite the severe backlash on social media, Netflix continued to stream The Closure on the platform and even defended the nature of the show in their statement.
Netflix and Dave Chappelle respond to ‘The Closure’ controversy
As the battle on Dave Chappelle’s transphobic comments continued to make the rounds online, Variety obtained an internal memo from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarrandos defending the special show:
“Distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be meanspirited, but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering.”
He also mentioned that irrespective of the collective outcry, the show would not be removed from the platform:
“Some talent may join third parties in asking us to remove the show in the coming days, which we are not going to do. Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long-standing deal with him. His last special Sticks & Stones, also controversial, is our most watched, stickiest and most award winning stand-up special to date.”
He also said that the company works to maintain “creative freedom” and hence certain content are deemed “harmful” by some viewers:
“As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom – even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, like Cuties, 365 Days, 13 Reasons Why or My Unorthodox Life.”
After maintaining days of silence about the controversy, Dave Chappelle opened up about the situation on Instagram. He continued to remain unapologetic about his opinions and said:
“I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. It seems like I’m the only one that can’t go to the office anymore.”
The comedian also claimed that he was not invited to speak to transgender employees on Netflix, contrary to rumors in the media:
“It’s been said in the press that I was invited to speak to the transgender employees of Netflix and I refused. That is not true — if they had invited me I would have accepted it, although I am confused about what we would be speaking about.”
Dave Chappelle also defended his comments, clarifying that he had nothing against the community and said that the key controversy happened due to “corporate interests”:
“I want everyone in this audience to know that even though the media frames it that it’s me versus that community, that is not what it is. Do not blame the LBGTQ [sic] community for any of this sh*t. This has nothing to do with them. It’s about corporate interests and what I can say and what I cannot say.”
He also addressed the transgender community and shared that he is ready to speak with them, but he will not bend to “anybody’s demands”:
“To the transgender community, I am more than willing to give you an audience, but you will not summon me. I am not bending to anybody’s demands. And if you want to meet with me, I’d be more than willing to, but I have some conditions. First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing at a time of my choosing, and thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.”
Several rumors also suggested that Netflix fired a few employees for protesting against Dave Chappelle’s show but the streaming giant immediately shot down the claims. However, it is likely that the company will continue to stream The Closure on the platform irrespective of the debate and controversy surrounding the show.
