As people consider his prior controversy, Dave Chappelle has recently been brought back into the spotlight as a result of his Netflix specific.
The new blowback to his new Netflix up special The Dreamer has made the controversial comedian a contentious figure once more.
The artist made numerous offensive jokes about the transgender community, and viewers immediately noticed how much he focused on them in his material.
Here is a timetable of all of Chappelle’s significant backlashes because this is not the first day that he has navigated controversy over the past few years. Some people might find this material troubling, so beware.
The timetable of the Dave Chappelle controversy
2017
Chappelle made a few jokes and sly remarks about the transgender area during his performance at Radio City Music Hall.
The artist, according to Vulture, spent the first 20 days of his fixed discussing transgender people and cracking jokes that were “clumsy and shallow.”
For instance, Chappelle claimed that the ban on transgender soldiers in the military by former US president Donald Trump “shocked” him. Sounds to me like a hidden tool. I would be horrified, he said, “if I were in ISIS in the pits fighting against the United States and all of a sudden I see the person with the beard and huge D-cup nips simply rushing my foxhole and sh*t.”
Chappelle added that despite his lack of understanding of trans people, he didn’t believe that their ignorance “disqualifies them from being a human being that deserves life with dignity, happiness, and respect.”
However, he continued by saying that the only cause trans problems are being discussed in major media is because “white people want to do it,” as opposed to the area being closed down or completely ignored if it were only made up of minorities.
2019
With his second specific, Sticks and Stones, which featured more content geared toward the trans community, Chappelle and Netflix’s successful collaboration continued.
Chappelle brought up his relationships with transgender comedian Daphne Dorman during the specific instead of apologizing for his unpleasant remarks about trans people.
The actor claimed that while attending his San Francisco shows, Dorman thanked him for “normalizing transgenders” and said she laughed at all of his transgender jokes. Some onlookers thought he was using her as a defense against condemnation.
One of these jokes eventually resulted in him misgendering her as the climax. Daphne would have loved that joke, he said, adding, “As difficult as it is to discover a joke like that, I’m telling you right today.”
Additionally, he said to the visitors, “If you’re in a class I make fun of, simply understand that I see myself in you.” Because I was again weak, I make fun of white people who are poor. He never stated, though, why he targets the LGBTQ+ group.
He joked about how he didn’t believe Michael Jackson’s allegations of sexual abuse in the same special. “I am aware that more than half of the people in this place have experienced sexual assault. However, it wasn’t Michael Jackson, for crying out loud, was it? The King of Pop sucked this kid’s d*ck! For the rest of our existence, all we get are unpleasant Vacations, he said.
2021
Chappelle’s fresh special The Closer, in which he continued to make fun of transgender persons, debuted on Netflix.
Chappelle mistreated a fellow artist during this set, made fun of transgender children’s systems, and repeatedly referred to transgender people as “the transgenders” while claiming that “gay is point” because “every human being on earth had to pass through the limbs of one person to be on Earth.”
Chappelle even unintentionally placed the blame for Dorman’s passing on the neighborhood, claiming that she committed suicide as a result of censure she faced for standing up for him.
LGBTQ+ individuals and their friends pleaded with Netflix to take down his offers because of the frequent targeting of trans people in them, but Netflix vehemently refused.
Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, responded to requests for Chappelle’s work to be removed in an internal email that The Verge acquired, saying, “We don’t allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hatred or violence, and we believe The Closer crosses that line.” But, I am aware that it can be challenging to tell the difference between commentary and harm, particularly when it comes to stand-up comedy, which aims to cross restrictions. Although some people find the art of stand-up to become mean-spirited, our people enjoy it and it plays a significant role in our material offering.
Three trans workers at Netflix were then fired for attempting to attend a director-level meet without being invited, including application engineer Terra Field. Because of her widely circulated Twitter thread criticizing Chappelle’s care of the trans community and the fact that Netflix was willing to provide him with a program, Field received additional criticism from the business. Since then, the employee droplets have been lifted.
Chappelle and comedian/podcast number Joe Rogan did handle all of this condemnation during a standup established in Nashville.
Chappelle promised to meet his “transgender community” critics in a video he posted to Instagram, but they “won’t summon me.” I’m no caving in to anyone’s needs.
The comedian continued by saying that there was a false rumor going around in the media that he had declined the chance to talk with the trans Netflix employees who were having issues with his unique and that they had never had the opportunity to talk to him at all.
You said you wanted a secure operating environment at Netflix, so if they had invited me, I would have accepted, though I’m not sure what we’re talking about. Chappelle told the audience. It appears that I am the only person who is no longer able to attend work.
The actor tells his fans to stop “blaming the LBGTQ group for any of this shit” at the end of the five-minute clip because the topic was more about” corporate interest and what I can say and how I may say. “Chappelle continued by saying that the neighborhood had been “loving and supportive.”
2022
Chappelle was attacked by market part Isaiah Lee while performing at the Hollywood Bowl’s Netflix Is A Joke event in May. Lee was brandishing a knife-blade replica gun.
Lee explained that Chappelle’s conversation of “triggering” topics like the LGBTQ+ group, homelessness, and suicide caused him to rush the stage.
Lee remarked, “I identify as lesbian and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering,” adding that “the next time, I really think about first running his substance by persons it was change.” Eventually, Lee received a 270-day prison term in the region.
Chappelle did return to the stage as Saturday Night Live’s post-November midterms number months later, but the announcement was met with swift backlash.
The author’s agent denied that there was any evidence of a protest when Page Six claimed that many writers from the show were boycotting the program because of Chappelle and his transphobic material. The space was crowded with artists. They all made pitches and appeared to be extremely enthusiastic about them. Dave wants to have a good time.
The inclusion of Molly Kearney, the second nonbinary cast member of SNL, in that particular show made Chappelle’s appearance distinctive when well. This left a lot of fans wondering how they felt about the show choosing to use Chappel as the host that week.
2023
It didn’t take long for Chappelle’s continued targeted jokes at the trans community to become well-known after Netflix released The Dreamer, its seventh stand-up special with him. He said he enjoyed “punching down” on transgender people, but added that “doing trans jokes” was over because “the community wasn’t worth the trouble.”
However, people ‘criticism of Chappelle’s hypocrisy when it comes to making fun of transgender people was the loudest commentary coming from the special.
Notably, Chappelle took a step away from humor at the end of his Comedy Central series The Challenge Show because he felt as though people were using him as an excuse to be overtly racist toward Black people. He also felt guilty about “blackface” while filming the show.
Audiences used X/Twitter to express their annoyance with Chappelle’s attempt to re-educate himself after realizing the injury he was doing to the Black community, but despite the fact that anti-trans laws and criticism were being circulated almost daily, the comedian had no qualms about making fun of trans people.
Despite the criticism Netflix receives each time Chappelle releases a new special, it doesn’t appear that the platform will soon be saying goodbye to the comedian, with CEO Reed Hastings confirming the streamer will work with Chappel for as long as he’s willing.
