Dave Chappelle in The Closer.Photo: Mathieu Bitton
More members of the LGBTQ+ community and advocacy groups are speaking out againstDave Chappelle’s new Netflix comedy special, including Jaclyn Moore, a writer and executive producer forDear White Peopleand the upcoming Peacock reboot ofQueer as Folk.
The special, titledThe Closer, includedseveral jokes directed at the LGBTQ+ community— specifically transgender people — with references to Chappelle’s dust-ups for similar humor in his previous standup acts.
The material sparked backlash amongst LBGTQ+ people and other social media users following the special’s Tuesday release.
Moore previously worked with Netflix onDear White Peopleand told the story of her transition for the streaming service’s Pride week programming. In a Wednesday Twitter thread, though, she said she’s “done” with the platform for now.
“I will not work with them as long as they continue to put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content,” she wrote after noting that she “loved working there.”
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“Love so many of the people I’ve worked with at Netflix,” Mooreaddedin a second tweet. “Brilliant people and executives who have been collaborative and fought for important art… But I’ve been thrown against walls because, ‘I’m not a ‘real’ woman.’ I’ve had beer bottles thrown at me. So, @Netflix, I’m done.”
GLAAD also spoke out about Chappelle’s special on Twitter,writing, “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.”
David Johns, the executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, called for Netflix to removeThe Closer.
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At one point duringThe Closer, Chappelle said he was “team TERF,” the term for trans-exclusionary radical feminist, an ideology that excludes trans women as women. He also joked about trans women’s genitalia and asserted that gender is “a fact.”
The comedian, 48, appeared to address the controversy during his sold-out show at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl on Thursday night.
“If this is what being canceled is like, I love it,” he said as the crowd gave him a standing ovation, according toThe Hollywood Reporter.
“F— Twitter. F— NBC News, ABC News, all these stupid a– networks,” he later added. “I’m not talking to them. I’m talking to you. This is real life.”
source: people.com
