In his most recent Netflix special “The Dreamer,” Dave Chappelle took another jab at transgender people and targeted the disabled community after receiving harsh criticism for his comments about trans and LGBTQ+ communities in his previous special.
Chappelle focused on the transgender community in his introduction. He recalled running into Jim Carrey while filming the 1999 film “Man on the Moon,” in which he played the late actor Andy Kaufman.
“I was extremely frustrated because I had to spend the entire day pretending to be Andy Kaufman in order to meet Jim Carrey. It was unmistakably Jim Carrey,” Chappelle said, describing how Carrey maintained his persona while off-camera. “I could look at him and clearly see it was Jim Carrey. I say all of that because transgender people make me feel that way.”
He then transitioned to the community of the disabled. “I’m doing all the disability jokes now. I love punching down on them because they’re not as organized as the lesbians,” he claimed.
Eventually, Chappelle came back to his ideas related to the transgender community.
“To be completely honest,” he said, “I’ve been working to mend my relationship with the transgender community because I don’t want them to think that I dislike them. You know how I have been mending it? I wrote a play. I did. I know that gay people love plays. Although the play is really sad, it is moving. It’s about a trans Black girl with the unfortunate pronoun ‘n***a.’ It’s a tear-jerker, really. She dies of grief at the play’s conclusion because white progressives are unable to communicate with her. It’s depressing.”
In 2021, more than 100 protesters participated in a rally at Netflix in response to Chappelle’s derogatory remarks in his earlier special “The Closer.”
Ted Sarandos, the CEO and chief content officer of Netflix, initially defended Chappelle’s comments in a statement made before the protest, saying that he didn’t think the GLAAD-slammed special “crossed the line on hate.” Eventually, he acknowledged that the internal response to the controversy was flawed.
According to a Netflix spokesperson, “We value our transgender colleagues and allies and recognize the deep harm that has been caused. We acknowledge that there is still much work to be done at Netflix and in our content, and we respect any employee’s decision to leave.”
