Once again, Dave Chappelle is under criticism from various LGBTQ community members.
The provocative comedian seems to respond to prior accusations of transphobia and homophobia by doubling down in “The Closer,” his latest Netflix special.
In the film, as The Washington Post reports, Chappelle jokes that DaBaby “punched the LGBTQ community right in the AIDS.” DaBaby had made misinformed comments on HIV, leading to him being dropped from music festivals.
Chappelle says that the rapper made an “egregious mistake” by making the comments against the gay people. The comedian compares this incident with when DaBaby was involved in a shooting at Walmart. While the shooting did not affect his career, the former did. This leads to Chappelle saying that shooting and killing is not as dangerous in America than hurting the feelings of a gay person.
Chappelle says that he would like to address this “disparity” as the audience applauds. He goes on to clarify that he does not hate gay people. On the contrary, he is “jealous” of them.
The comedian says that the Blacks look at the gay community and admire how good their movement is going, unlike them who have been trapped in the predicament for more than a century. He jokes that if the slaves had booty shorts and baby oil, the Blacks would have been free a hundred years sooner.
He also jokingly refers to himself as transphobic, and later comments on transgender people. Dave also says he is “team TERF” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) in support of J.K. Rowling, who argues that gender is a fact.
“The Closer” concludes with a story about Chappelle’s friend, who he says was a White transgender woman. Dave says of how she tweeted to defend him after he faced transphobia accusations, making her a criticism target as well. The woman, Daphne Dorman, committed suicide soon afterward. Chappelle says he would stop joking about the LGBTQ people.
However, Chappelle has shown no sign of backing down from the controversy. He reportedly received a standing ovation when he made an appearance at a Los Angeles event.
According to Los Angeles Times, Chappelle said that, “If this is what being canceled is about, I love it.”
A lot of organizations and people have demanded that “The Closer” be pulled from the streaming service. The show, however, is still available and Netflix is yet to comment about Chappelle’s comments.