The disabled community was Dave Chappelle’s new focus for his most recent Netflix stand-up special.
Two years after his 2021 Netflix special “The Closer,” which drew criticism for his remarks about the LGBTQ+ community, particularly focusing on transgender people, Chappelle’s new special ‘The Dreamer’ debuted on the streaming service on Sunday.
In “The Dreamer,” the 50-year-old comedian addressed the controversy, telling the audience, “I’m not (expletive) with those people anymore if you came to this show tonight thinking I’ll make fun of them again.” It wasn’t worth going through the trouble. I’m not being overly complimentary about transgender people. That’s all, maybe three or four times.
Dave Chappelle compares Jim Carrey’s transgender group acting style.
At the beginning of his new special, Chappelle did manage to make a few jokes at the transgender community. He once joked about running into his hero Jim Carrey while filming “Man on the Moon.” Andy Kaufman, a late artist, was portrayed by Carrey in the 1999 film.
“I had to spend the entire day pretending to be Andy Kaufman to meet Jim Carrey, which left me feeling very disappointed. It was unmistakably Jim Carrey.” Chappelle recalled how Jim Carrey maintained his persona off-camera and said, “I could look at him and clearly see that it was him. That’s how transgender people make me feel, so I say all that to claim.
Chappelle continued by stating the new disadvantaged group on which he intended to focus in “The Dreamer.” “I’m making all kinds of jokes about people with disabilities tomorrow. I love punching down on them because they’re not as organized as the lesbians,” he claimed.
Madison Cawthorn, a paraplegic and former North Carolina Republican representative, was mentioned briefly in the writer’s jokes about disabled individuals. He joked that he had met Cawthorn and said, “Then I just walked away.” He couldn’t do what I wanted him to see me do. I omitted.
Dave Chappelle makes fun of Will Smith’s personal attack on Chris Rock by slapping him.
Chappelle changed gears and spent a lot of time talking about the famous incident when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the 2022 Oscars ceremony in “The Dreamer.”
“I felt offended. I wasn’t just offended that he got slapped. That only accounted for a quarter of it. The really offensive part,” according to Chappelle, “was after the slap, when Will just sat down and enjoyed the rest of his evening.”
Chappelle claimed that at first, he made fun of Rock for the way that Rock handled the situation that came to be known as “The Slap.” “Everything is funny until it happens to you.”
During the Netflix Is A Joke event in May 2022, Chappelle was assaulted backstage at the Hollywood Bowl. The New York Post reported that Chappelle’s set was “triggering” for Isaiah Lee, who was accused of assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly pointed an imitation gun at him. When Lee approached the comedian, he did not have the gun drawn.
In “The Dreamer,” Chappelle remarked, “We gave that kid a good whack,” alluding to the time his security team intervened and beat the attacker. Rock was angry from theater because no one interfered at the Oscars, he added in jest.
Chappelle ended the joke by saying, “I now know what Will Smith would not have done, and that is to enjoy the rest of his evening.”
