In his latest Netflix special “The Dreamer,” Dave Chappelle has targeted transgender and disabled people.
The comedian opens his new hour-long special by bringing up the subject once more after his previous special “The Closer” caused criticism and internal boycotts at Netflix over jokes about the transgender community.
Chappelle recalls meeting Jim Carrey, who played the late artist Andy Kaufman on the set of the 1999 film “Man On The Moon,” in the opening scene.
Chappelle said, describing how the actor stayed in character off-camera, “I was really disappointed because I wanted to meet Jim Carrey and I had to pretend he was Andy Kaufman all day.” Jim Carrey was clearly there. It was Jim Carrey, as I could see when I looked at him. I say all of that because transgender people make me feel that way.
He joked, “I’m not fucking with those people again,” acknowledging his previous remarks on the subject. “It wasn’t worth the trouble.”
“I’m not saying anything negative about transgender people. That’s all,” he continued, repeating three or four times. “I’m sick of talking about them. Do you know why I’m sick of bringing them up? Because they act as though I need them to be funny. That’s ridiculous.”
Chappelle continued, “I ain’t doing trans jokes anymore,” adding that he had “a whole new angle.” “Do you know what I’m doing now? I’m making all kinds of disabled jokes now. They’re not as well-organized as the gays, and I like punching them in the face.”
Chappelle returned to his thoughts on the transgender community later in the special.
“To be completely honest,” he said, “I’ve been trying to mend my relationship with the transgender community because I don’t want them to think I hate them.” “Do you know how I have been mending it? Through a play that I wrote. I acted. I know that gays love plays.”
“Although the play is really sad, it is moving. Unfortunately, the word in the story is ‘n***a,’ and it is about a transgender Black woman. It’s a tear-jerker, really. She dies of sadness at the play’s end because white liberals fail to connect with her. It’s tragic.”
In a special titled “What’s In A Name,” Chappelle recently addressed the backlash against his jokes about transgender people, claiming that those who were critical of his remarks ignored his “artistic intent.”
Recently, it was reported that some Boston fans left a stand-up show after the comedian allegedly criticized Israel’s bombing of Gaza.
