Dave Chappelle, whose comments about transgender people led to a furious backlash from the LGBTQ community, has said he will ‘not bend to anyone’s demands’ over what he can and cannot say.
In recent weeks, comedian has faced calls for him to be cancelled following jokes made in a stand-up special for the streaming service, Netflix.
Chappelle caused controversy with his jokes, in which he asserted that ‘gender is fact’ and criticized what he said was the thin skin of trans people.
The jokes were based on J K Rowling, Harry Potter author. In 2019, she stated that transgender females were not women and were a threat.
The backlash from the LGBTQ community has come to Dave Chappelle, 48-year-old comedian, and Netflix for comments he made in his latest special
On Monday, Chapelle spoke out for the first time about the controversy in a five minute video which was posted to Instagram.
Chapelle posted a five-minute message saying, “To the transgender population, I am more willing to give you an audience but you won’t summon me,” I will not bend to anyone’s demands and I am willing to meet with you if you wish, but I have conditions …’ Chappelle stated in a segment that was filmed onstage.
“First, you cannot attend if you haven’t watched my special from start to finish. You must attend a place and time that I choose, and you must admit that Hannah Gadsby does not make a good joke.
“Am I canceled? Let’s go! Chappelle yells “Then let’s go!” at the end.
Chapelle stated in an Instagram video that he is open to meeting with transgenders, but they must have seen his special first.
Chappelle, 48, was accused of transphobia in past Netflix specials.
In The Closer, he stresses his love for transgender people and shares a long anecdote of a trans woman comic who he described as a friend who came to his defense during earlier entanglements in the community.
Chappelle says, “Every human being in the room, every human being, on Earth, had must pass through the legs a woman to be here.” This is a fact.
Chappelle jokes in the contentious special that transwomen are viewed today the same way as black people might view blackfaced white women. Caitlyn Jenner was awarded the 2015 Woman of the year award by Glamour magazine.
‘I’d be mad as sh*t if I was a woman,’ Chappelle says during a problematic bit.
In the special, the star jokes about transwomen’s anatomy, joking that they lack real female reproductive organs and don’t have blood but beet juice’.
It has been almost three months since the controversy began. Some staff were suspended while others were fired.
Protests erupted in Hollywood after the comments of Chappelle and Netflix’s refusal not to pull The Closer, a comedy special, were made.
Netflix CEO, Ted Sarandos, initially defended Chappelle and said that it did not ‘cross the line’ on hate speech, despite various organizations including GLAAD and National Black Justice Coalition condemning the comedian’s comments along with a number of trans Netflix employees.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix boss, has defended Dave Chappelle’s The Closer special to staff by telling them in an email that ‘content onscreen doesn’t translate into real-world harm’. Hannah Gadsby (Lesbian comedian), has two comedy specials available on Netflix. She rose to fame in 2018 after her first special Nanette started streaming on Netflix.
Dave Chappelle continues to be criticized for the controversial content of his Netflix special, which critics claim was transphobic.
Last week, Sarandos seemed to soften his stance.
‘I screwed up the internal communication — and I don’t mean just mechanically,’ Sarandos said. I felt that I should have made sure to recognize that some of our employees were suffering very badly from the decision I made. Before I went into any rationalization of their pain, I should have done so upfront. I say this because I deeply respect them and I love their contribution to Netflix. They were hurting, and that was something I should have noticed first.
Sarandos said that Netflix ‘was working hard to ensure marginalized communities aren’t defined by a single story’ specifically noting ‘we have Sex Education, Orange Is the New Black, Control Z, Hannah Gadsby and Dave Chappelle all on Netflix. This is achieved by increasing diversity in the content team.
Gadsby has two comedy specials on Netflix. She rose to fame after her first special Nanette, which was streaming on Netflix in 2018, became available.
She asked Sarandos on Instagram not to “drag”. [her]Enter your name [his]Mess.
‘F**k you and your amoral algorithm cult…’ she wrote.
Chapelle’s jokes were criticized by those who specifically pointed out the dangers faced by trans people as a result anti-trans ideology.
Chappelle claimed that the family of a transgender woman was harassed to death for defending his jokes on a 2019 Netflix show. They have since slammed him for trying to cancel them, saying they don’t know how much it cost her.
The Closer is Chappelle’s last stand-up special on Netflix before he goes on a break
Daphne Dorman (44), was a transgender comedian who opened the door for Dave Chappelle.
Daphne Dorman was 44 years old when she committed suicide in 2019. She had defended her friend Chappelle from jokes she made during a Netflix Special that year.
‘When she did that, the trans community dragged that b**** through Twitter,’ Chappelle told the audience in The Closer.
He continued, implying that harassment may have contributed to her suicide.
“It’s true; my heart was broken.” Although I don’t know what happened, I can bet that she was hurt by being dragged.
Dorman, who became a woman in 2014 after a transition, was an up-and coming comedian who opened a show at Chappelle.
Her family said her humor was a mask for a dark past that left behind severe PTSD.
She said that despite her inner demons, she used her comedy skills to make the world around them laugh, according to her sister.
Her sister dismissed critics of Chappelle’s transgender jokes by saying that the comedian ‘loved Dorman’ and that people cannot demand that everyone see it their way.