Streaming service Neflix has long been producing comedy specials for a myriad of comedians. Most of them are left-leaning and almost all have been positive and friendly toward the LGBT+ groups and allies. However, Dave Chappelle, who is in no way right-leaning or conservative, has found himself in the middle of some controversy as GLAAD and a few other groups are now trying to have him and his latest special cancelled. Jaclyn Moore (who is a transgendered) has called on Netflix to pull the program and accuses Netflix of “promoting dangerous rhetoric” on his special “The Closer.”
The irony is that Dave Chappelle considers himself an ally. One of his “jokes” in the special proclaims “I have never had a problem with transgender people. If you listen to what I’m saying, clearly my problem has always been with White people.” His comedy style, much like many as of late, has turned more into a lecture style setting where the audience is told why the person with the microphone is morally superior, why some random piece of their identity is of a greater minority, and why they have the right to say what they want.
The jokes that the 48 year old comedian is most in trouble for revolve around gender and transgender politics and it has whipped critics into a frenzy to get the special removed from Netflix and force Chappelle to either apologize or never be worked with again. In the same noted report above, the five most controversial jokes that have Chappelle standing in the corner were outlined. First was him addressing past jokes that weren’t liked…
“Go back, go back tonight, after the show … I said, ‘How much do I have to participate in your self-image?’ I said, ‘You shouldn’t discuss this in front of Black people,’ ‘I know n——s in Brooklyn who wear high heels just to feel safe,’ I asked you why is it easier for Bruce Jenner to change his gender than it is for Cassius Clay to change his name? I’m not even talking about them, I’m talking about us and they don’t listen.”
The next was his defense of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling who has been labeled a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) by the LGBT+ groups for simply stating that she believes gender is biological. Ironically, neither she nor Chappelle have stated they disliked or weren’t friends with transgendered people. JK Rowling came under fire because she defended a friend who lost a job and for making statements like those seen in the tweet below pointing out that erasing “women” was the least feminist thing that could be done.
‘People who menstruate.’ I’m sure there used to be a word for those people. Someone help me out. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?
Opinion: Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate https://t.co/cVpZxG7gaA
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 6, 2020
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Dave Chappelle stated in his special “They canceled J.K. Rowling – my God! Effectively, she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as (expletive), they started calling her a TERF.” To which Chappelle responded at the end of the joke that he, too identified as a TERF.
He went on to talk about gender and said “Every human being in this room, every human being on Earth had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on Earth, that is a fact. Now I am not saying that to say that trans women aren’t women. I am just saying that those p—–s that they got … you know what I mean?” I’m not saying it’s not p—-, but that’s like beyond p—- or impossible p—-.”
For those who may not get the joke, Beyond and Impossible are brands of fake meat for vegetarians.
He continued to talk about DaBaby and the controversy that was cause by a young rapper for using homophobic slurs in his music and on his social media accounts. Chappelle found it truly ironic that a rapper who had once killed a man (19 years Jaylin Craig) for allegedly attempting rob DaBaby in a Wal-Mart, was only now facing problems in his career.
“DaBaby shot and killed a [man] in Walmart in North Carolina. Nothing bad happened to his career,” Chappelle stated. “Do you see where I’m going with this? In our country, you can shoot and kill a [man], but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings.”
For the record, The Daily Wire reports that according to audience scores, Chappelle’s sixth special on Netflix is a raging success. “Review site Rotten Tomatoes’ “top critics” granted Chappelle a dismal 33% rating. The show was embraced widely by his general audience, however, earning the comic an average 96% rating.”