GLAAD condemns Dave Chappelle, Netflix for his latest set of transphobic jokes
The Closer, released this week, spends large sections of its runtime on Chappelle attempting to justify transphobic material past and present
Dave Chappelle released a new comedy special, The Closer, on Netflix last night. Which means, with a depressing inevitability, that Chappelle also released a new set of jokes predicated on making fun of trans people, depicting them as thin-skinned bullies bound and determined to push poor, multi-millionaire comedians like Dave Chappelle around. GLAAD has now issued a condemnation of the special, which includes a loud declaration from Chappelle that he’s “Team TERF!” in addition to other transphobic material.
Chappelle, in fact, devotes quite a considerable chunk of The Closer to talking about trans issues—i.e., the issue of trans people asking him not to peddle transphobic “comedy” that involves loudly declaring, “THAT. IS. A. FACT.” while talking, to rapturous applause, about the state of other people’s genitals.
Chappelle spends roughly the entire last third of the 70-minute special on the topic, ending with a promise to stop telling any jokes about the LGBTQ+ community, an assertion that reads less like personal growth, and more like he’s taking his ball and going home before he ends up getting treated in a similar manner to fellow millionaires J.K. Rowling, Kevin Hart, and DaBaby. (All of whom get namechecked in The Closer.)