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He seems to be at pains to use his offstage support of trans people to justify his overtly transphobic onstage comedy. He’s said repeatedly that he supports trans people, and in The Closer, he speaks out against North Carolina’s notorious anti-trans bathroom law. To be extremely clear: Dave Chappelle probably considers himself a trans ally. It’s a tangled, unpleasant mess, but it’s an important moment, both for Netflix and for the increasingly vocal trans audience that’s fed up with Chappelle. That Chappelle discusses her again in his newest special is a heated point of contention between those who believe trans viewers are bullying Chappelle and his friends - including Dorman - and those who believe Chappelle’s humor makes it harder for trans people like Dorman to safely exist. Following her death shortly after the special came out, she became a focal point of the debate around whether Chappelle’s comedy is harmful to trans people. Participating staff presented Netflix with a list of demands for boosting trans and nonbinary content on the platform and decreasing harm prior to the walkout- and while Netflix issued a statement of support, it’s unclear if any of them will be met.Ĭomplicating the situation even further is an uncomfortable wedge that has only exacerbated the polarization around Chappelle: the suicide of Daphne Dorman, a trans woman who defended and befriended Chappelle, then became a willing subject of his comedy herself in his 2019 Netflix special Sticks and Stones. Netflix’s approach to the whole situation has triggered employee resignations, backlash, and now, a walkout of the company’s trans employee resource group and allies, held October 20. “We don’t allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line,” he wrote in an internal email on October 8.īut with Chappelle platforming a position of gender essentialism onstage, and declaring that he’s “team TERF” - thereby aligning himself with trans-exclusionary radical feminists who argue that trans women aren’t women - many Netflix viewers and employees disagree. (The company has since lifted the suspension another trans employee was fired after allegedly leaking budget information about Chapelle’s special.)ĭespite the uproar, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended Chappelle and his comedy. Netflix has said the employee was suspended not for her viral tweets, but for attending a director-level business meeting without an invitation. Moreover, Netflix recently suspended a trans employee who tweeted about the special’s transphobia. Many trans viewers feel Chappelle’s comedy has escalated into overt hate - and they’ve been voicing their complaints directly to Netflix. In the special, released October 5, Chappelle’s humor is more openly transphobic than ever. Over six Netflix specials, Chappelle has lashed out at what he views as progressive attempts to cancel him for his incendiary comedy - all while mocking the queer and transgender communities and the Me Too movement and generally doubling, tripling, and sextupling down on the offensive jokes and reactionary politics that people took issue with in the first place.Ĭhappelle’s latest special The Closer is possibly his last for the streaming service, and with it, the discourse around his comedy has intensified. For the past several years, comedian Dave Chappelle has been locked in a vicious cycle of anti- cancel-culture standup comedy.