Netflix now just posting Dave Chappelle’s random self-aggrandizing speeches, apparently
What's In A Name isn't a new Chappelle special, but a speech that is, in part, about how everyone who criticizes him must be wrong
Aux News Dave Chappelle
Netflix has made it very clear, over the last few years, that its unwavering support for Dave Chappelle and the transphobic comedy he continues to pepper into his various specials is not just a business stance (not least of which because some of the company’s own leaked metrics suggest it periodically overpays for Chappelle’s work) but a philosophical position. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has made that personally clear in his many full-throated defenses of Chappelle, no matter how many times the comedian suggests, as he did in his 2021 special The Closer, that trans women and men aren’t “real” women and men, respectively, among other transphobic jokes (that all really round down to that singular joke that’s the only one that transphobes ever seem to know).
Just in case there was any doubt left, though, the streamer went out of its way to re-erase it today, releasing a new project at midnight last night titled Dave Chappelle: What’s In A Name. Despite its Netflix Is A Joke branding, What’s In A Name isn’t a new stand-up special; instead, it’s a speech Chappelle gave at a naming ceremony at Washington D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts last month—for a theater that was supposed to be named for Chappelle, until the controversy surrounding him (and questions from angry students) forced him to back off.
Chappelle takes his time getting to that part of the speech, though, instead giving a now-familiar recitation of his education, career, and especially the fallout after he walked away from the success of Chappelle’s Show 17 years ago. But get there he does, in typical fashion, i.e., by painting the students who stood up to him as indoctrinated children who can’t be blamed for being “tools of oppression.” Here’s the key bit where Chappelle really lays it all out, though, in a way that was presumably meant to come off as more righteous than petulant: “The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say.”
It’s a sentiment that dovetails nicely with the Duke Ellington quote plastered on the front of the speech’s Netflix presentation, about the need for art to be “dangerous”—without asking the all-important follow-up question: “Dangerous for who?” This has always been at the crux of Chappelle’s unwillingness to understand his critics, and a stance that Sarandos has parroted in internal Netflix communications: The idea that all speech is inherently good and harmless, despite the obvious evidence of both empirical research into the damage that normalizing transphobia can do to people’s mental well-being, and our own lived experiences on an internet that sometimes feels entirely made up of harmful speech.
Chappelle doesn’t reckon with any of that, of course; he just calls The Closer a “masterpiece” and himself a “once-in-a-lifetime talent.” Netflix, presumably, agrees, hence it posting the speech (with no indication of how much, if anything, it paid Chappelle for the privilege). We can’t wait to see what random errata of his life they decide to promote as front-page content next: Voicemails? Twitter drafts? Deleted Instagram stories? The possibilities are as limitless as the streamer’s apparently unending tolerance for his act.
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I sure hope this multi-millionaire can recover from the oppression of having young people saying his dated opinions and beliefs are bullshit.
Fingers crossed.
It’s the WORST THING EVER!
Your entire life is a monument to mediocrity and failure
The weirdest shit about Chapelle’s schtick is how he obviously equates and frames the LGBTQIA community with whiteness, with no idea how his rhetoric can harm queer people of color. I don’t know if it’s purposeful or if it’s ignorance (probably some combo of both), but it’s almost comically clear that he is unwilling to engage with that part of why his act is potentially harmful.When he talks about oppression and shit, that’s so clearly what he means. The thesis of The Closer (and really most of his transphobic material) is “isn’t it weird that we’ve elevated issues of homophobia and transphobia above issues of the black community?”, when a much better set of jokes would be “isn’t it weird how white queer people have systemically removed queer people of color from the conversation and made the world better for themselves at the expense of others?”. It’s like…IT’S RIGHT THERE. He’s clawing at the surface of an actual problem that exists, but his transphobia overrides everything and instead everything becomes a treatise on how weird it is that there are women out there who have penises.It’s so clear that he refuses to actually engage with why his comedy is offensive. But I think instead of telling Dave his comedy is offensive (he thinks he’s a genius and people like this tend to think that being a twat is some sort of amazing ability instead of him just being a fucking asshole), we should say what we really mean.His comedy isn’t funny. The jokes aren’t funny. They aren’t well-written, they’re poorly constructed, they have no punchlines, and they’re delivered like shit. It’s open-mic quality shit.If we say his comedy isn’t funny, he can’t bitch about being silenced. He could argue we’re wrong, but that would make him seem as comically out of touch as it is. So I move that we stop saying he’s offensive and start saying he’s just not funny anymore. I think that would hurt him more than anything at this point.
I think Chappelle’s point with that is if you’re gay and black for example, people see you as black first above all. You can pretend to be straight, you can hide being trans from the public, etc… You can’t do that with being black.
Also something people in community have said and continue to say.
The reason he’s not able to do that is because he isn’t LGBT+, he has no interest in it as a concept or a community beyond his own straight perspective on it, and he’s so used to approaching topics like this from a position of experience (since his primary focus has been race) that he’s having real trouble accepting that he doesn’t have experience on this one, even when it comes to racial issues within the community.Or to put it another way, he ain’t Richard Pryor at the Hollywood Bowl.
This argument is stagnant.
Whenever some privileged millionaire complains that they’re a victim of “cancel culture” I open a new tab and Google their net worth. Yeah, you’re being super oppressed, Dave.I am sure if another comedian took a page from his book and used it to punch down on POCs constantly he would think that is different somehow.
Thanks! Didn’t know this was streaming.
Me love being openly manipulated… forfreespeech!!! Thanks for letting me know Literally Just a Recorded Speech is on goodfreespeechchannel!
Get some medical assistance.
Subjecting myself to terrible content to own the libz!
You are never going to actually watch this
You made a brand new account to post that?
Have fun being bored for 40 minutes and then having to pretend you enjoyed it for purposes of virtue signaling.
This has gone to a weird place. Not for popular black comedians refusing to cool it on the jokes about queer people (that goes back to Arsenio Hall and Kenan Ivory Wayans), but for Sarandos.
Sarandos just wants an excuse to say the N-word at dinner parties.
Sarandos just wants an excuse to say the N-word at dinner parties. Is Sarandos known for racism or use of slurs?
They’re not slurs, they’re artistic freedom and expression.
No, it’s cool – his best friend is Black.
Unlike you who has no friends and has done nothing with his life. Keep screaming into the void though. Really brave stuff
Not at all.
He must be like that guy Michael Rapaport played in Bamboozled, except in real life. In other words, like Michael Rapaport in real life.
Just depends on which party he’s attending.
Edgy material. Another reminder that you and your shit opinion literally could not matter less.
Such a boring, flabby man with a boring, flabby act.
I take issue with his assertion that he’s a once in a lifetime talent, since I had to hear about him incessantly when I was 20 and again when I was in my 30s. If he described himself as a “once every few decades part of the cultural conversation, for reasons that would embarrass most people,” it would be more accurate.
WTF are you talking about?
Agreed. Eddie Murphy was arguably a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and by Chappelle’s age he had actually tried to listen, learn, and apologize for his prior anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Talent is no excuse for bigotry – and I’d even argue that if the notion of “talent” is in part intended to excuse such behavior, then we need to radically rethink what we frame as talent in the first place.
Funny that you should bring up Eddie Murphy.. a guy who made some homophobic jokes in his career and actually apologized for it.
Yup, that’s what I trying to get at. And it’s notable that when Murphy made those jokes he was basically a kid starting out, whereas Chappelle is a middle-aged professional who has been a household name for almost two decades. Murphy both had an excuse and didn’t rely on it, and actually tried to make amends; Chappelle has no excuse, yet continually plays the victim. (It’s not a good look.)
Yeah, Eddie Murphy has apologized for those specials plenty of times and has shown that he’s grown up since then. I see no reason to view him as anything other than a good guy who had some learning to do and did it.
Murphy filmed Delirious when he was twenty fucking two. Just absolutely unbelievable. He auditioned for SNL at 18 and was immediately the best part of the show. That is truly a generational talent.And yes, he freely admits that he looks back on his homophobic jokes with complete shame. Like an adult.
Weird he didn’t get to the do the oscars either….
Yes apologize! Because we are offended. We could just not watch or simply ignore you, but no you must be silenced, cave to us and compromise your beliefs and values in doing so. Everyone is a bigot to some degree, if you really think about it.
Richard Pryor stopped using the n-word in his routines after a trip to Kenya, when he came to see the slur as more demeaning than comedic.
Dave is wrong and he doesn’t want to admit it.
That gives me chills, so deep. God bless Richard Pryor.
I’m gay and still love the bicycle cops joke from Raw.“Wooooo! Wooooo! Wooooo! Pull ovah! Pull ovah!”
he had a once in a lifetime success with the Chappelle show. now he just a run of the mill shock jock.
His Killing Me Softly special (his breakout) was (and is) legitimately hilarious, but none of that makes anything he’s saying now anything but bullshit. Cosby’s standup work was amazing too, but it hardly matters now.
So how long before they release a special of him just sniffing his own farts for an hour?
Ricky Gervais has that cornered!
Wasn’t that already done last year and called “the Closer”?
FUN FACT: Full title was “The Closer I Get to My Cheeks, The Better the Whiff.”
Is Netflix really this joined at the hip? Does he bring in a dumptruck full of money?
Probably not, but Netflix is in a mess of trouble now that there are multiple strong competitors in the streaming space. Sarandos clearly believes in the maxim that says “any press is good press.” He’s wrong of course, but he’s desperate for Netflix to continue seeming relevant.
This feels obnoxious as all hell. Watching a comedian say his last stand up was a masterpiece and I’m once in a lifetime talent is basically auto sucking. Really? The Closer a masterpiece? Even the people who liked it wouldn’t go that far.
Seems to me like they’ve given him a contract that says over x period of time, you will receive y amount of money and must provide z hours of programming for us, and now they’re mutually screwed by this agreement, which is probably nearing the end of it’s time. Chappelle probably owes them more material, and Netflix as has been said a lot in the comments, is struggling for something to grab eyeballs, so they’re pressuring him to give them SOMETHING they can use and then when he gives them more horse shit, they’re like ok well we can let this be worth the money we paid him and try to support it and get people to watch it, or we can go back to begging him to give us more stuff and threatening to revoke the contract or whatever.
No. Problem is, neither does the Woke Mob, which ultimately does little more in the name of activism than commenting on blogs.
sorry, he’s still funny, and if you cant take a joke…and that the point he’s trying to make…grow some nuts and realize words dont hurt. intention matters, you want to be equal? well being made fun of equally is part of that…is all he’s trying to say.woke culture is ruining this country. take accountability for your own self worth and dont let tv comedy specials affect your life. move on and or watch something else. if youre mad at him…dont watch. it’s not for you
Golden age of television means stuff like this has to compete with actually interesting and entertaining shows.
I can’t imagine the audience for this is particularly large, but it’s Netflix’s bandwidth to waste.
This was a speech that was in the news. Why is it surprising that Netflix would show it. Everyone is making too much out of this. Av club should have ignored it if they don’t want to spread hate. Of course they won’t, to many clicks to not include it. The actual acknowledgement he did of the school and teachers was thoughtful.
The golden age of tv was in the 50s 60s
Dave Chappelle is a legend.
Netflix has taken a stance. If you can’t deal with any speech you don’t agree with, you may like to seek another employer. In a year, Netflix will be so happy to have flushed out the crybullies. They’re insane and slow everything down.
If Chapelle can’t handle criticism of the things he says then maybe a career in the public eye is no longer for him.
Very lukewarm take up above. Dave has been making dirty jokes his entire career, why would censoring him now help? Why should any single group get the right to censor comedians? These types of whiny articles are great at polarizing the community and nothing else.
Because his jokes are LITERAL MURDER, can’t you see that?!
“The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to
say it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say.”I noticed this when he gave the speech. He finally just admitted it like an bratty edeglord. I don’t know any way to characterize this other than juvenile. There seems to be a growing portion of people these days who conflate contrarianism with intellectualism. It’s similar to how anti-maskers/vaxxers, QAnons, flat earthers/Brooklyn Nets players, etc. define themselves by being against widely held beliefs in attempt to gain mental superiority by proving some phantom point.
He standing up for the very essence of what it is to be a comedian. You are no different than the conservatives who had the likes of George Carlin put in jail for using curse words in his act back in the 70s. Liberals are the new conservatives and its f’ing crazy to see
“You are no different than the conservatives who had the likes of George Carlin put in jail”Actually, there is a difference. Carlin actually WENT TO JAIL. Chapelle went to Netflix and got tens of millions of dollars to talk shit about a minority group.
Getting multiple comedy specials on the world’s most popular streaming service is the OPPOSITE of being censored. Carlin would have killed to get this sort of treatment.
Chapelle has absolutely nothing to complain about, but he knows the only way he can keep his audience from getting bored is to constantly play the oppressed victim. Because God knows he can’t entertain them by telling jokes.
It’s wild how unintelligent you are
Yeah, you keep thinking that – in a few decades, though, I think you’ll find yourself embarrassed by having thought so. In the meantime, if you want to invoke Carlin and the “essence of being a comedian,” though, even Carlin disagreed with punching down the way Chappelle is. The essence of comedy isn’t unfettered speech; it is speaking truth to power and calling out the absurdity of life. (Well, that and a combination of timing and word choice.) Which is kind of the problem; if it’s not funny, it’s not comedy, and right now Chappelle isn’t being funny. Just because he’s theoretically a comedian doesn’t automatically make it comedy – if it’s bigoted and not funny, it’s just bigotry through a microphone, regardless of what Netflix category it pops up in.
He IS funny. Very funny.
I’ve seen a lot of people say recently that Eddie Murphy’s Raw and Delirious have aged poorly because of the jabs that he takes at gays in those specials. But, at least bits like Ralph Cramden fucking Ed Norton is an obvious joke. Everyone’s milage may vary but as to how funny that is and in the modern context it comes off as retrograde gay panic, but it is a joke. Chappelle’s bits just come off as lectures about who can make fun of who and it just doesn’t land as a joke.
Murphy has also fully apologized for the slurs he used in those specials, saying it makes him cringe to hear those bits today. But by the language of the era he really wasn’t any worse than most.
George Carlin wrote his material with the explicit goal of pissing off conservatives. The people he pissed off were people he intentionally targeted, because stand-up comedy isn’t aimless ranting (any asshole can do that), it’s about carefully crafted wordplay and bits.Which means that either Dave Chappelle has been lying and was trying to piss off trans people this whole time, or his comedy is slack and not hitting the targets he intended.
Also Carlin went after the people and entities in power
You have zero insight into what you’re claiming. Do everyone a favor and shut the fuck up
Go away, bot
LMAOOOO there’s actually a huge difference: no one is saying Chappelle should be in jail. Excoriating someone because of hate speech is different from calling for their imprisonment for same
You people are about as dumb and ignorant as it any person can come. My comparison was for people like you to conservatives of the 70s. Attacking free speech. Wanting to eradicate it. No wonder you actually think his special was transphobic (a special you probably never watched and only listened to others talk about) when his story that caught heat was heartbreakingly supportive of Trans people. He simply poked at the toxicity within the Trans community. And people like you have put Trans on this pedestal so high up there that the idea of someone being toxic and Trans is just unfathomable and thus anyone to say something must be transphobic. If everyone is equal, then that comes along with accepting that Trans people, like anyone else, can be extremely toxic too
Buddy. You couldn’t be more wrong. And ignorant. You are trying to tell us we can’t criticize Chappelle, or Netflix for giving him a platform. That’s as anti-free speech as you’re claiming we are. You can’t honestly, or intelligently, compare “that is a bad thing to say and he’s a bad person for saying it” to sending someone to jail. You’re either here in bad faith, or the dumb and ignorant person you claim we are. You’re angry at us for calling Chappelle dumb and ignorant, but think it’s fine to do it to us.Youre either a dumb, ignorant hypocrite, or just a bad faith poster. Or both. Why not both?
The fact that I consistently hear/read about Dave Chappelle (across multiple outlets), despite having not seen his output since the first of the newer Netflix specials, clearly means that he has been silenced.Clearly.
Attacking free speech. Wanting to eradicate it. Who the fuck is trying to “eradicate” Dave Chappelle’s speech? Tell me.
Tell me which ever-so-powerful group is succeeding in ensuring that Chappelle (he of the multi-million dollar Netflix deal in question) is actually “silenced?”You can’t. Because that isn’t what is happening. Some people dig his act. Others don’t. The discussion thereof does not indicate a concerted effort to do the impossible (i.e. “silence” a multi-million dollar performer who regularly performs to large crowds and/or a Netflix audience of over 200M).FFS, think about this shit, yeah?
Right. The anti-Chappelle movement has bullied Netflix into…releasing a statement that any of their employees who dislike the fact that they keep giving him airtime are free to quit anytime. Wokism gone mad, I say!
The people who bitch about public criticism and simultaneously decry “participation trophies” is pretty close to a goddamned circle.
You’re ugly and have a bald head
He doesn’t just believe “Trans people can be toxic too”, he doesn’t believe they are Trans. He believes they are liars and are only the same gender they’re born with. He stands on a crutch that he has a trans friend but he doesn’t wonderif people like him are why that Trans person committed suicide.
God you’re dumb
There is no toxic trans community, and he barely knew the woman he used like a coward as his human shield. They were not friends and he didn’t even attend a single memorial for her. Didn’t even know she had a kid.She also wasn’t bullied y trans people online. He just made it up. He’s still the only person who supposedly witnessed any such thing. He lied and his Stans repeat the lie. Get it? A liar and a bigot, defended by clueless dolts who think their discomfort with trans people makes them brave anti-establishment warriors. This is embarrassing and you should be embarrassed.
Imagine being stupid enough to claim that there isn’t any toxicity in the trans community. Next level dumb. Congrats
Attacking free speech. Wanting to eradicate it.
Who’s calling for Chappelle’s arrest?
Who’s calling for Chappelle’s arrest? Absolutely no one credible. Which they know.These lil’ weaklings are pissed that people don’t like what they like, and take issue with the reasons why people don’t like it.Me? Hell, I thought well-adjusted adults were supposed to move past that, but hey, maybe I should be getting all 4channy when someone shit talks, say, Aqua Teen. Seems adult.
WHOMST DARES SHIT TALK AQUA TEEN?!? SHOW ME!I really like ATHF.
Your summary of the special makes it sound like you didn’t actually watch the special and only listened to others talk about it.
Is anyone claiming Ezra Miller is not toxic?
“You people are about as dumb and ignorant as it any person can come”
Imagine calling people stupid in such an incoherent way.
You just built one gigantic strawman. I didn’t say anything about his special, just about what people say about it. Project more, fuckboy
Cool dude. Point out literally one person who’s advocated for Dave Chapelle to go to jail for his shitty opinions.
He’s actually very different from Carlin and Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks in these anti-trans rants. He says if you tell him he can’t say something he wants to say it more. So do some dumb white people when they’re told not to say certain n-words.Asking him to stop shitting on a minority group is not the same as the US government arresting comedians years ago. You know what would be the same? If he went to Florida and said a pro-LGBT stance on stage and got arrested. But he wouldn’t do that. He’d rather wrap himself up in his own views and insulate himself with his Comedy Central and Netflix money. I’m looking forward to Killer Mike’s new song that features Dave. I doubt he brings up his shitty views on that though thankfully.
Take your brand new account and your five posts and fuck off back to Reddit with the rest of the easily duped 14-year-olds. What’s the F stand for? Fucking idiot?
Nobody threatened anyone with jail. Freedom of speech does not mean you a free to say whatever and no one gets to call you out
Oh I guess I’m the fool then! My dumb ass always thought the “very essence of what it is to be a comedian”…is to be funny?
Dave is just whining, and while he’s whining, he’s making tons of money from a massive company that is continuing to support his views in addition to bankrolling him. These articles and the (intelligent) comments following them are not saying “make him quit expressing a view that I don’t like or throw him in Gitmo!” They’re saying “this person continues to say horrible things, and now he’s playing the victim and also there’s a massive corporation that you’re likely buying services from monthly that has pledged support to his damaging position multiple times and continues to do so.” Then the reader can decide on their personal response, maybe cancelling Netflix or maybe just a comment and move on, maybe tell a friend who is talking about how much they love Dave, etc etc. No one is calling for prosecution. This isn’t even close to comparable to wanting Carlin arrested for saying “fuck” during a stand up show.
1) You’re talking about someone being arrested. No one is advocating for Chappelle to be arrested or face any other governmental consequences. People are just saying he should quit saying stupid crap and outlets like Netflix shouldn’t give him their platform for it.2) Carlin was arrested for saying curse words. The only thing wrong with those words is some people’s sensibilities. The words don’t actually harm anyone. They don’t further support discrimination against a marginalized group. They’re not responsible for encouraging bigotry.
Does the F in “Jeff F” stand for Fail?
are you under the impression that progressives in the past were fine with hate speech? like they didn’t protest or boycott stuff based on what someone said? surely you’re just concern-trolling and don’t actually believe that, right. like progressives were protesting andrew dice clay in the 80s, were they also 70s-era conservatives? have you met anyone born before 1995?
Yes, I put Dave Chappelle in jail. That is what happened.
What a load of bullshit. First of all Carlin was prosecuted BY THE GOVERNMENT. You know, an *actual* free speech violation. Nobody has suggested that Chapelle is doing something illegal. I’m sure that plenty of clubs refused to book Carlin because his act was “blue”. That wasn’t a violation of his rights any more than people saying that Chapelle is saying harmful things about vulnerable people.
Now Dave Chappelle’s saying we can’t say that he can’t say something, which makes it all the more urgent for us to say he can’t say it, which makes it urgent for him to say it and for us to say he can’t say it and him to say we can;t say he can’t say it.He’s created an infinite loop of rhetoric so powerful we can probably generate enough electricity from it to power the Earth, completely carbon free.
He’s a firm believer in “rules are there to free me and to bind others.”
That is a super incisive way to say it. Well done.
Naw, that infinite loop of HOT AIR is simply adding to the issue of climate change. Maybe everyone should just shut up for a while and think about positive ways to make the world a better place?
Seriously he should run for office with this logic. Conjure a strawman argument that isn’t being made and use it as an excuse to double down.
Claiming the Closer is a masterpiece is sign enough he’s immature as fuck. People got mad because they don’t appreciate my genius is basically a Trump take.
So white people can say the N-word now Dave?????? Right Dave?
Exactly. Especially the “it has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say”. First, no one is saying you “can’t” say it, just that you shouldn’t. Second, it has everything to do with that. Is he going to do a special where he espouses the greatness of Hitler and Nazis? I mean, I guarantee people will tell him “he can’t say that”, so wouldn’t that mean it’s urgent for him to say it?It’s such a ridiculously ignorant response.
It’s just so dumb. I mean what would Dave’s reaction be to a white guy borrowing the black pixie character from his old show as a platform for more fried chicken jokes and the opportunity to say “n***** n***** n*****”? When the guy gets tons of laughs and builds up a big following, but Netflix won’t show that shit, is Dave’s response really going to be to condemn Netflix for telling that comic he “can’t say something” and to encourage the comic because being shut down makes his message so “urgent”?Is that really how this works, Dave? Being told, “shut up, you’re being harmful” means you have a duty to say that same shit more and louder — regardless of the content?
He’s really just doing this now
God you’re unfunny
Unironically strong and brave move for Netflix not to cave on this one. Chappelle may not produce the gut-laughs he did 20 years ago but this is an important cultural stance and I’m happy they’re taking it.
Cultural stance of promoting transphobia? Yeah. How strong and brave.
There’s no such thing as transphobia. That’s just a made up term trying to slight people who won’t go along w/ the mass delusions and new religion of gender nonsense. It doesn’t work. We don’t care.
You can dismiss the comment of that guy who replied to you, just saying
Take a leisurely stroll though this asshole’s post history for two seconds, and you’ll wish you had dismissed him instead of replied to him.“There’s no such thing as transphobia. That’s just a made up term trying to slight people who won’t go along w/ the mass delusions and new religion of gender nonsense. It doesn’t work. We don’t care.”“Imagine still thinking “anti-vaxxer” is a diss in July 2022 after they’ve been fully vindicated LOL.”“We’ve made some progress admitting that “latinx” was stupid and never should’ve been tried. Can we now stop pretending “they/them” pronouns are anything but a disaster?”“Probably thinks the kid would be better off at a drag queen story hour.”
I’m not the only one thinking this is getting suspicious, right? Between the overpaying, the standing by him despite huge public outcry, through to just throwing up a random speech he gave with little merit beyond aggrandizement…Something feels fishy, like there’s some kind of insider trading or something behind the scenes.
Sounds like racist white gays are on a witch hunt and Dave is a popular Target. I don’t remember ever seeing buses full of white guys heading into black neighborhoods for outreach and support. You want black people to be your support puppets because you feel entitled to direct our culture. A bunch of gay Karens calling the cops on Dave’s bbq.
Nah. A dude who perhaps reasonably became a huge litigious problem for another company no longer understands the difference between reasonable and unreasonable, and the CEO of the current company he’s at loses no money blowing smoke up the dude’s ass, and stands to lose a lot if he doesn’t.Sarandos is basically in the position of the Republican Party, where he rode the coattails of a volatile figure to power and stands to benefit staying a loyal supporter, but could be turned into a pariah if he doesn’t. Comfortably trapped, one could say.
Maybe this ticks one more special off the list for Netflix, at essentially no cost? They could be trying to accelerate the clock with Chappelle.
I’m guessing the deal Netflix and Chappelle signed was like Sandler’s; a lot of money for a lot of content. They may mutually be running out the clock because this feels low effort.
It sort of seems like a band releasing a greatest-hits album with 2 new songs on it just to get a multi-album contract with a record label over the finish line.
Hey you leave Tom Petty outta this. Also Mary Jane’s Last Dance and Something in the Air are bangers.
Please stop making fun of The Who like that.
Anything of Chappelle’s that Netflix puts out gets a ton of views and coverage. Netflix wants anything that distracts from stories about its shrinking earnings and Chappelle gets more money every time one goes up, so neither of them have much interest in ending the relationship.
Neflix’s own numbers show that the numbers of viewers that Chappelle generates does not justify the money they paid for the specials.
Sure, but like I said, the viewers alone aren’t the only benefit. Publicity about people watching their shows is way better than publicity about people cancelling subscriptions.
You must really be into shemales if you’re criticizing a black person.
Transphobic? Yall are reaching but the shelf is too high. Dave mentored a trans comedian til her suicide. Like South Park, Simpsons and Family Guy Dave targets everyone equally. Amazing how white LGBT saw no problem with sketches about race or the N word, proving his point that you aren’t allies. This is a racist witch hunt, maybe focus on your white peers in government who are rolling back your civil rights instead of attacking a comedian and alienating people of color. I haven’t forgotten how white LGBT blamed black Californians for prop 8. You need to do some serious soul searching.
Prop 8 is a weird thing to drag into this, considering that, yes, the majority of Black Californians who voted in that election did indeed support it, and by a comfortable margin- anywhere from 58 to 70%, depending on the survey, more than any other demographic. Maybe everybody could do a little soul searching on this one.
Stop replying to these shitheads. They’re all burner accounts with like four posts. Do nothing but dismiss and report. Just like we do with all of recognitions’ posts.
He did it mentor her. He barely knew her, they were not friends. They were colleagues. He didn’t even know she had a kid. He lied about almost every aspect of her life and their relationship. He’s a dick.
Dave mentored a trans comedian til her suicide.
No, he used a trans comedian as a shield against people saying Chappelle is transphobic.
Dave targets everyone equally.
No.
Amazing how white LGBT saw no problem with sketches about race or the N word, proving his point that you aren’t allies.
Amazing. You completely missed Chappelle’s point with those sketches and why he left the show.
This is a racist witch hunt
No, we have the same hate for Ricky Gervais.
maybe focus on your white peers in government who are rolling back your civil rights
Like Clarence Thomas?
alienating people of color
Not liking a black comedian means we’re pissing off all black people?
This is a racist witch hunt, maybe focus on your white peers in government who are rolling back your civil rights instead of attacking a comedian and alienating people of color. TIL that I cannot send a letter to a member of Congress – AND – bitch ineffectually about a comedian who doesn’t even know I’m alive. Has to be one or the other.Wait…wait, no, that’s stupid.
“Dave targets everyone equally”Targeting everyone equally is a childish and naive philosophy because we do not live in a society where everyone is TREATED equally.
“Amazing how white LGBT saw no problem with sketches about race or the N word”Amazing how you somehow had time to poll every white LGBT person to get their opinions on Dave’s sketches. That must have taken a long time. Can we see your data?
“Dave mentored a trans comedian til her suicide.”And if he hadn’t known her personally he would have mocked and insulted her along with all other trans people, since that’s the only thing he does anymore. He doesn’t get special points because he picked one trans person out of millions and decided this was the only one he would be nice to.
“Amazing how white LGBT saw no problem with sketches about race or the N word” This also fails to make the distinction between a person in a marginalized group making jokes to do with their own in-group, and a person making fun of a marginalized group of which they are not a part. I don’t think the degree of difference between these two approaches can be overstated.
“Targeting everyone equally is a childish and naive philosophy because we do not live in a society where everyone is TREATED equally.”It isn’t on comedians to deliver us a utopian society before making jokes.
And if he hadn’t known her personally he would have mocked and insulted her along with all other trans people, since that’s the only thing he does anymore. He doesn’t get special points because he picked one trans person out of millions and decided this was the only one he would be nice to.It’s worse than that – He did mock and insult her. One of his jokes was about how her method of suicide proves she was really a man, and another revolved around him deliberately misgendering her to her children after her death. Part of the thesis of his act was that she was one of his tribe, more than the queer community, because as a comedian she went along with him continually being a transphobic arsehole to her for the laughs. He doesn’t even have “I gave my one trans friend a pass” going for him.
“Amazing how white LGBT saw no problem with sketches about race or the N word, proving his point that you aren’t allies.”They had problems with them, they just didn’t have the platforms and amplitude that these communities have now.Saying “they didn’t have a problem” at that time ignores the amount of work these communities had to do in order for you to eventually pay attention to the message.
Amazing how white LGBT saw no problem with sketches about race or the N word, proving his point that you aren’t allies. Yeah, it’s really confusing why people took less issue with the straight black man speaking frankly about race (which he demonstrated plenty of insight into) than about LGBT issues (which he demonstrated precious little).Come the fuck on. If this was Billy Eichner we were talking about then him trying to deliver some hard-hitting commentary on being black in America would go over like a fart in church, but he can make all the gay jokes he wants, because he actually knows the LGBT community well enough to know what jokes to make, and has the lived experience to justify it.White comedians (rightly) can’t touch some of the topics Chappelle does, and certainly not with the authority he conveys or the frankness he utilizes, and Chappelle knows this, but he’s unwilling to accept the notion that as a straight dude he might be out of his depth elsewhere, talking out of his ass regarding a community he knows precious little about and has no intention of actually learning.
Ahh, the noted Daphne defense. Any insights on how similar it is with racists and their “I have black friends” defense? Or did you not think that far ahead and just took Chappelle’s word for it?The problem with Chappelle is he’s not targeting everyone equally; he’s literally targeting transgender people. He had a bit in his last special where he makes fun of gays, lesbians and bisexuals, but singled out trans people as wanting more attention that everyone else in the LGBTQ+ classification. He literally devoted HALF of his last special to talking shit about trans people. He used his “friend” Daphne as a shield to hide behind criticism and had the gall to tell people that their attacks caused Daphne to kill herself. What about the effects of Chappelle’s observations about transgender people, then? Do those specials, being broadcast across millions of people on Netflix, not harm people going through the human experience of being trans? Is he responsible for their suicides? Y’know, like how he frames everyone else having blood on their hands for Daphne?
I am fully confident that people attacking Chappelle never even fully watched his last stand up. It was an overwhelmingly positive story towards Trans people that he told. People just can’t handle the idea that some Trans people can be toxic, much like any other person on this planet. And when Chappelle pointed out that toxicity some of the Trans community has, people lost their freaking minds. They started attacking free speech and comedy with the mindset “how dare anyone Trans or white-knighting the Trans movement be anything but saintly”. Trans movement 3-4 years ago: stood by 100%. Trans movement today: want nothing to do with it and hope to watch the movement burn to the ground as they pick on easy targets like Comedians so they can feel good and pat themselves on the back rather than actually fight against those who REALLY matter, such as politicians.
Free speech MUST remain free. You might feel comfortable giving the reins over to the people who are trying to control speech today, but there is no guarantee that you will be comfortable *or safe* having given that power to the people *or person* who will control speech tomorrow. And that is why the right to speech that does not *directly* cause actual harm is not to be infringed upon. Speech from which you can draw a direct line to actual harm is not protected speech. As much as you may *feel* that unfavorable remarks about people based on otherwise protected characteristics (race, sex, gender identity, etc) cause direct, actual, physical harm… in all but a select few cases that already rise to the standard of illegal action: they do not. Unless someone whips a mob up into a frenzy of bigoted hatred before then singling out an individual as a target, you’re out of luck if you expect to be able to do anything to stop that person besides persuade them (and for that you do have plenty of options to choose from, not the least of which being economic persuasion). If you don’t like Chappelle or what Netflix has given him a platform to say: perhaps don’t advertise his latest release for free with countless articles like this one or myriad hashtags that get the attention of fans like me who would otherwise not know about this for possibly months. Nothing kills an entertainer like silence. Be it after a joke or after a special is released, if enough people who disagree with what he has to say ignore him and refuse to give him free publicity, he will begin to fade away. But if a sufficient portion of consumers find him both entertaining enough to support with actual dollars and inoffensive enough to keep that money coming, you may find that the sword of “everyone has a voice in this society” can cut both ways. Is it fair? In outcome for all: no, it is not. But it does mean that nobody can stop you from speaking up about it. However, much like you get to have your say on Chappelle and what he chooses to say, others may wish to have their say about you, too. You can’t eat your cake and have it, too. Ironically, the people criticizing Chappelle’s right to free speech (and Netflix’s right to give him, or anyone, a platform) are the people who would have been saying 30 years ago exactly what they’re criticizing Chappelle for saying in this article today: “The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say.”I understand that there is even a fight against legislation in Florida that would limit the free speech of educators who wish to educate children on LGBTQIA+ existence and issues. There are people who believe that doing so rises to the level of causing direct harm to children. Others argue that limiting that speech is actually what can cause direct harm to children. Are the people who want to silence any voice they disagree with ready to hand that power over? Because once anyone gains that legal power, it inevitably will be transferred.
Yeah, when you find someone that wants it to be federally illegal for Chappelle to do whatever horseshit he’s doing, you go ahead and dig this speech back up out of the trash. As it stands you know full well everyone just wants him to know he’s doing horseshit and wish he’d stop.
Lol umm ur in the minority, he sells out shows and has millions of fans. Probably the most famous comedian alive today. If u dint like what he says don’t watch how hard is that? Stop being so PC where u want everything u don’t like to cease to exist.
Nah. Free Speech is a value instantiated in the 1st amendment, it is not constituted by the 1st amendment. If the only way you can think about freedom is whether or not something is legal or illegal, then your having a different conversation than most people who argue for free speech.For a thought experiment, imagine our culture zigzags back to a place where the religious right is culturally ascendent and is able to stop the expression of values they don’t like through shaming and marginalizing people who oppose them. Do you see a problem? Because no speech has been outlawed, even though people have stopped talking for fear of social consequences.The one thing such moral-majoritarians have in common with the new woke crusaders running around today is that they are both convinced that they are taking a stand for what’s right and good (“we’re on the right side of history!”). And the best argument against letting any mob who declares themselves the ultimate arbiters of moral truth to silence speech is how often such people turn out to be utterly full of bullshit.
Oh christ, not this bullshit again. You don’t have to be a civil rights lawyer with a background in constitutional interpretation to know that that’s not what the right to free speech is, but as a civil rights lawyer with a background in constitutional interpretation, I can tell you that’s not what the right to free speech is.The right to free speech is the right to not be prosecuted or targeted by the government for voicing opinions. Nobody is calling for prosecution here. We just want him to stop being a vocal bigot, and for a major streaming company to stop being a platform for his bigotry. That doesn’t threaten his right to free speech; it does not, never has, and never will entitle anyone to a platform. So stow the “free speech”/”slippery slope” nonsense – it just makes you look foolish.
If u don’t like what he says don’t watch. Calling him a bigot is just the trendy thing to say like saying u stand with ukraine lol get a life and form ur own opinion. He never said any hateful things about Trans people he says worse stuff about Asians and whites. When did comedy come under attack by all the sensitive people in the world?
I am also a civil rights lawyer, hey fam! And yes.
Most people talking about this issue are talking about the ‘value’ of free speech in our culture, not the legality of free speech in our courts. Do you really need to be a lawyer to know that? (For historical reference, see John Stuart Mill on the distinction between culture and law, and Tocqueville on the practice of free speech in American culture.)
This publication has referred to Chappelle’s material as literal hate speech – so you’re incorrect.
Totally agree. I just wonder why an otherwise super talented comedian has to keep beating this dead horse. Ten years from now (assuming lung cancer hasn’t taken him) is Chapelle going to still dedicate a whole portion of the evening to bad anti trans takes and how of a victim he is?
What bigotry? It’s art…
It always amazes me that the people most in the “unlimited free speech, no exceptions” camp don’t think that criticism (or even dissenting opinions) counts as free speech for some reason.It’s almost like they want the right to say whatever heinous bullshit they like without repercussions.
Criticizing someone for using their speech in a way that promotes hatred for a marginalized group /= revoking their free speech. Chapelle can say whatever dogshit he wants to say, and everyone else is allowed to criticize him for it. Freedom of speech is not freedom from consequence.
How exactly is a group of privileged men treating being a woman like it’s a costume “marginalized”? If there’s a more delusionally entitled group of people outside of religious cults, I don’t know who it is. Stop enabling misogyny.
Maybe I need to see it again, but clearly missed the part where he promoted hate. Is there a specific statement one can offer that was hateful, or just not agreeing hate now?
The right to free speech is not the right to a Netflix special. Netflix can, and does, refuse to produce or air material every single day.The right to free speech is not the right to freedom from criticism. You have every right to be an asshole, and people have every right to call you an asshole.The right to free speech is not the right to an audience. I cannot force you to read this. You are free to ignore some or all of it at your discretion.The right to free speech is not the right to financial compensation. I am free to cancel my subscription with Netflix for any reason I choose, including their continued support of Chappelle.Ironically,
the people criticizing Chappelle’s right to free speech (and Netflix’s
right to give him, or anyone, a platform) are the people who would have
been saying 30 years ago exactly what they’re criticizing Chappelle for
saying in this article today: “The
more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say
it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say.”Nah, I’m pretty sure 30 years ago there were enough adults in the room to understand that this knee-jerk “he says I can’t say the n-word so it’s important for me to yell it as loudly as possible” philosophy has a couple big fucking holes in it. This is a bratty high school understanding of what fighting censorship means.
How are we still having this conversation in 2022? I feel like the average asshole’s understanding of this concept is moving backwards over time
I blame Hillary Rodham Clinton for making President Donald Trump, and the Alt-Right Supreme Court he pushed through who want to send the U.S. back to the Stone Age regarding Civil Liberties, possible.
“The need for art to be “dangerous”—without asking the all-important follow-up question: “Dangerous for who?” – this really the crux of it here.What Chapelle and other transphone ‘comedians’ are doing is the equivalent of juggling flaming torches while riding a unicycle on somebody else’s roof: you’re free to practice your crazy stunts as you please – but don’t burn down someone else’s house, and don’t whine that you’re being victimized by the mean homeowner when he asks you to keep please keep your open flames away from his home.
Horrible metaphor
Oh? Care to provide your own?
Yeah, see, that’s one of the single dumbest motherfuckers currently on this site.Don’t believe me? Keep engaging with him. There’s nothing to learn from someone that banal.
I’ll let you know if I come across anyone who gives a fuck what some ugly nobody thinks.
It’s best not to reply – he’s masturbating right now.
Not the least plausible explanation there. I just think the fucker is too timid for/can’t afford therapy. ::shrug::
Unfunny and unoriginal as always. I’m probably totally in my moms basement right now too huh?
Presumably, a better one would be: going up on someone’s roof and making jokes they don’t like.
You’re not intelligent
I see Laserface is here just tearing ass through every negative comment again with the most withering “no u”s he can muster.Hey buddy!
Correction: someone who got so mad at Laserface that he decided to name a burner after him.Not at all something a weird, petulant child would do.
Fortunately, the adults in the room include WOMEN. Actual fucking women. They’re as tired of this pervy charade as Dave is.
That’s a whole lot of words to tell strangers on the internet that you don’t understand what freedom of speech means
Get the fuck outta here with this crap. Your aren’t arguing before the Supreme Court.
Neither are you, kiddo. Fortunately they weren’t talking about any Amendments, eh? People have different opinions than you. Grow the fuck up.
You worked very hard to convince me you do not understand this topic on a fundamental level.I believe you.
You should consider free speech rather than charging by the word.
God you’re unfunny
It’s funny how you bring up the “fight against” legislation in Florida, because that’s actual legislation that has actually passed, it’s not that it “would” limit free speech, it ACTIVELY ALREADY IS censoring speech, with real legal consequences.Nobody is doing this to Chappelle. But that’s what’s happening in Florida. Yet you choose to jump behind Chappelle. Perhaps your attention would be better spent on the ACTUAL censorship of speech that you mention.
Stop trying to infringe upon my right to criticize things via speech, twerp
Real talk boss. You do realize that 90% of the people in this comment section saw that in the first line of this page long screed you didn’t know what free speech really was and just wrote you off right?
Say it with me: Dave. Chappelle. Has. Free. Speech.Then, say this with me: People. Are. Allowed. To. Not. Enjoy. His. Speech.And then, finally, this: Performers. Are. Not. Owed. Praise.
You’re ugly and have a bald head.
Kill yourself.
Dave Chappelle has been my favorite comedian for years, not that long ago, I actually referred to him as a national treasure. I don’t know what the hell is going on with him now, why he’s so stuck on this. The few jokes he had about it in the first two or three specials I thought were fine, any community should be able to take a little ribbing now and then, but holy shit Dave, enough already!
Just so you know, word count is not the same thing as IQ.
TL;DR.Maybe less speech is more speech, you transphobic piece of shit.
You’re not intelligent and nothing you’ve ever said or thought matters in the least
Less speach for pervy fucking groomer trash would be splendid.
Take your new account and your one post and cram it up your copy pasting ass. When you’re done with that, fuck off back to Reddit with the rest of the easily duped 14-year-olds.
Babygirl you *know* you can just italicize shit right
Okay but none of this has anything to do whether people have to support a platform that gives free rein to speech they think is harmful, nor has anyone criticized Chappelle’s “right to free speech,” nor has anyone said he can’t say whatever he wants. So. Basically this is all entirely moot, but thanks.
It’s very urgent that I say that you get 0 bitches and I deserve a national platform to do so.
My gods, that was a whole lot of words to tell us you don’t understand the situation. “Freedom of speech” is completely irrelevant here. No one is calling for Chappelle to face consequences from the government. They’re just telling him not to say the stupid crap he’s been saying.
Free speech MUST remain free.
Oh fuck off. You have no idea what you’re talking about.
You might feel comfortable giving the reins over to the people who are trying to control speech today
Who do you think is being given those reins?
And that is why the right to speech that does not *directly* cause actual harm is not to be infringed upon.
It’s not being infringed upon.
Speech from which you can draw a direct line to actual harm is not protected speech.
There’s a direct line from anti-trans speech to trans people’s deaths.
Unless someone whips a mob up into a frenzy of bigoted hatred before then singling out an individual as a target
Nobody has ever claimed Chapelle did that.
If you don’t like Chappelle or what Netflix has given him a platform to say …
…then we have every right to voice that displeasure.
I understand that there is even a fight against legislation in Florida
that would limit the free speech of educators who wish to educate
children on LGBTQIA+ existence and issues.
Here’s the difference that proves you don’t know what you’re talking about: the government is limiting the speech of educators in Florida. The government is not limiting the speech of Dave Chappelle. Which means his free speech isn’t being violated. Me telling you to shut the fuck up doesn’t violate your right to free speech.
Are the people who want to silence any voice they disagree with ready to
hand that power over? Because once anyone gains that legal power, it
inevitably will be transferred. Oh shut the fuck up.
You should shut the fuck up. Nothing you say or think matters
That’s a whole lotta words for simply saying you’re a pervo dude I’m a dress.
Up yours, woke moralists! We’ll see who cancels who.
lol please cite the legal attempts at censorship chappelle has faced, oh wait it’s just criticism? STFU
My eyes melted out of my skull like Toht in Raiders halfway through reading this
Jesus Christ, look at you writing a whole manifesto that boils down to “free speech is doomed unless everyone stops criticizing the unfunny hatemonger.”Nope, fuck that. Free speech only works if everyone has it, so I’m going to use MY free speech to say that Dave Chapelle is an untalented has-been who has nothing to contribute anymore. I will further use my free speech to say that the best thing he could do as a comedian and a performer is to shut the fuck up so more talented, less hateful voices have a chance to get through.
Finally, I will use my free speech to point out that if you go on Netflix right now, you’ll see that all of his worthless specials are still available despite me and millions of other people criticizing them. Looks like Dave’s free speech is doing just fine, you whiny drama queen.
Looks like Dave’s free speech is doing just fine, you whiny drama queen. It’s hilarious how transparently stupid the “but FREE SPEECH” arguments tend to be.
Dave, nor any normal adult, cares what you think, you sorry failure of a child.#freespeech
Hi Dave, could’ve used fewer words to dox your burner account
so the only way to save free speech is to silence all the critics?
You can’t separate the content from the act of speaking.
For the 80 billionth time “free speech” isn’t “freedom of everyone has to listen to you.” Nobody is suggesting Chapelle be arrested. In fact, everyone else is exercising *their* free speech in denouncing him for his bigoted bullshit (as you in turn are exercising yours in voicing your complete misunderstanding of what ‘free speech’ is with no legal consequence – just a bunch of internet commenters pointing out what an idiot you are).
“Free speech MUST remain free”Free speech includes criticism of others exercise of free speech. No one is restricting Chappelle’s ability to say what he’s saying.“If you don’t like Chappelle or what Netflix has given him a platform to
say: perhaps don’t advertise his latest release for free with countless
articles like this one or myriad hashtags that get the attention of
fans like me who would otherwise not know about this for possibly
months.”Translation: If you don’t say anything, maybe eventually the bully will stop punching you and go away. So it’s your fault the bully’s punching you.
“But if a sufficient portion of consumers find him both entertaining
enough to support with actual dollars and inoffensive enough to keep
that money coming, you may find that the sword of “everyone has a voice
in this society” can cut both ways.”Yes, and we reserve the right to exercise our free speech to call those people transphobes. Again, no one is restricting Chappelle’s ability to say what he’s saying. You can go watch all of his specials on Netflix right now, including this newest one.
“Are the people who want to silence any voice they disagree with ready to hand that power over?”What power do the people criticizing Chappelle have? He’s a rich guy with rich friends who can get the preeminent streaming service on the planet to distribute his stuff whenever he wants and then get a bunch of random yahoos to stump for him on twitter and (apparently) the AV Club comments section. No one who’s writing articles for the AV Club or posting in these comments or (rightly) pointing out on twitter that Chappelle’s turned into that Principal Skinner meme has the level of power either he or Netflix has.Saying I wish the jerk would shut up about us and leave us alone is not restricting his ability to say whatever the hell he wants to say on a massive media platform. Jesus christ.
Ayo shut the fuck up. That’s a whole wall of text to try to negate what the actual real-life people who are being actively harmed in the real world are telling you. Log off and stop going to bat for millionaires crying about what they “can’t” say.
Conservatives don’t care. They do not care. They don’t care if we play fair, they don’t respect rights, or law, or tradition. They want power, they want to control the narrative. The whole argument over free speech from conservatives is almost entirely them doing their thing of accusing liberals of doing what they are doing, e.g. don’t say gay or banning teaching about america’s racist past. Let stop pretending that if we are real nice and polite to our abusers, they’ll stop abusing us.With regards to chapelle, fuck that guy but also stop fucking writing about him because you are making him an underdog hero when he is just a rich powerful person making tired jokes about marginalized folks. What if most left leaning venues just…pretended he didn’t exist?
True that. Free speech is another right that, for now, is guaranteed. You (global you) dont have to agree or like what I say, but I can say it. If it damages you (like falsely accusing of a crime) then the speaker is liable for damage. If it offends the listener, then too bad.
This is better than anything the AV Club has said about Chappelle Ever. No one makes you watch.
Netflix costs $9.99/month.Sorry, not going to read more than the first sentence of that rant.
Wow, you used a lot of text to justify being a transphobic bigot. That’s…commitment.When talking about free speech and your right to the same, I remember this scene in Heinlein’s THE STAR BEAST:“…Now as to that speech you wished to make: from the size of your manuscript I surmise that you will require about two hours?” “I believe that will be ample, your honor,” Eskiund answered, somewhat mollified. “Good. Bailiff!” “Your honor?” “Can you dig up a soap box?” “Why, I believe so, sir.” “Excellent.
Place it on the lawn outside. Doctor Esklund, everyone of us enjoys
free speech . . . so enjoy yourself. That soap box is yours for the next
two hours.” Dr. Esklund turned the color of eggplant. “You’ll hear from us!” “No doubt.” “We know your sort! Traitors to mankind. Renegades! Trifling with. . .” “Remove him.”Your right to Free Speech (or David Chappelle) does not include your right not to have to spit in face of our own right to the Free Speech of telling you you’re a transphobic bigoted asshole.Selah.
nice manifesto ig
I can’t wait until Netflix releases their next Chapelle “special” and it’s just smartphone footage of his speech to his local homeowners’ board. You know, the one where he threatened to move away if they built affordable housing for the poor.Yeah, it’s easy to forget that he’s a rancid piece of shit in more ways than one, huh?One guy in Oklahoma whose login name is “MAGA4Ever88″ will watch it on a nonstop loop for a week straight during a meth binge, and based on that Netflix will call it their most viewed special ever.
Fun fact: he just bought up some of the land that affordable housing was going to be built on.
I’m sure it’s all part of his heroic plan to save free speech or some bullshit.
No one asked you.
Out of spite. Because they dared cross him.
No one asked you or cares. I’m sure you can’t barely afford rent at whatever sad tenement you exist in.
Jesus. Why didn’t I specifically see this coming? Chappelle is such a piece of shit, and likely always was.
He must have just hid it really well, and then money made it harder to care about hiding it.
His special was heartbreakingly supportive of Trans people. No other way about it. He just poked at the toxicity within the Trans community much like with you. You can’t transcribe anything from that special that will show any difference. With people like you, the idea that a Trans person or supporter can be toxic is unfathomable. And if we are all equal, then they very much can be just like any other person in this world.
Heartbreakingly supportive? He doesn’t understand trans folks or clearly care to. He made up a story about a trans women he barely knew, blamed her suicide on the trans community based off literally no evidence, used her death as an shield for pitching transphobia, and misgendered her in death. She can’t even respond positively or negatively because she is dead. At best, his use of her identity is in bad taste. The fact he keeps attacking trans folks means he just likes being transphobic.
No one asked or cares what you want or “can’t wait for”. You aren’t funny or original. You’re a loser with a hot take that you think makes you brave.
“The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say.”
The thing is, NOBODY is saying you can’t say the shitty things you are saying, you intolerant bigot dipshit. What people are saying is that you can’t say those prejudiced bullshit and then demand that nobody points out how ignorant and hateful it is.Chappelle doesn’t reckon with any of that, of course; he just calls The Closer a “masterpiece” and himself a “once-in-a-lifetime talent.”
Second to the untalented transphobic and racist (yes, let’s not forget his “jokes” about Jews) crap that he tries to pass as “masterpieces”, this is the bullshit that annoys me more about Chapelle. The unwarranted arrogance… I remember hearing he calling himself “The Greatest of All Time” in one of his recent specials and thinking “I don’t know where this fucker came from, but apparently is a place where Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Ed Murphy, Robin Willians, and SEVERAL OTHERS WAY BETTER THAN HIM have never existed…”
Really? There wasn’t a movement to have his Netflix specials pulled just this year?
Thank you Mr. White Cis-het-man. Your thoughts here are certainly wanted.
This tone deaf, narcissistic collection of words you submitted for the world to see only showcases your ineptitude and inability to do this job.Your insistence on referring to Chappelle as “transphobic” is faux gaslighting at it’s worst. It’s akin to stuffing your ears with your fingers while making the La La sound to make sure you miss the message, to make sure you hold on to this petty, mean spirited grudge and bring it up every chance you get. Careful, your humorless disposition is showing. These few observations I’ve taken the time to share with you make you the worst type of ally – or representative for ANY community – but especially this one, who could use a sense of humor and a sense of united humanity while facing their biggest threat yet: A rabid republican party ignorant enough and false outraged enough to try – and get away with as much heartless, wicked, self serving legislation as possible.I suggest you leave the comedy news with those capable of laughter.AND the reporting to those with the ability to be objective, forward thinking and have a sense of collective humanity.Your bitter little He-Man Woman Haters Club ain’t the only club on the block and it damn sure ain’t the only one encouraged to laugh and reflect, smile and ponder this crazy world with Mr. David Chappelle. Grow up.
“The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to
say it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say.”
So does this only apply to Chappelle or does it also apply to every racist white boy who’s been dogwhistling for ages but really wants to drop the big n-bombs in public?
No no, like most bad-faith arguments, in only applies in the very limited context in which was off-handedly spoken and is not based on any actual moral principle, observable reality, etc
And you get to decide what’s considered bad faith right?
As it relates to someone you don’t know personally, and have no real insight into?
Precisely. It has everything to do with what we’re saying he shouldn’t (notice “shouldn’t”, not “can’t”) say.
No, I am sure he would tell you that only applies to him, and not to someone that would say something that would offend him.
If you have such a problem with Chappelle, stop giving him free publicity.
I felt that his comedy skit was hilarious. But again I watch comedy with a view of not taking everything to heart kind of mentality. Alot of you fucks need to go out and touch grass. And get the hell off your phones. Your in the media way too much and it’s hurting your brains and how you should take comedy, which is with a grain of salt.
You made a brand new account just to say that? What else should I do after I get off my phone, grandpa? Pull up my pants?Fuck off back to Reddit with the rest of the dumb children.
Yeah you’re a better person because you spend a large amount of time here. Therefore your opinion is somehow more valid. You don’t matter. Your shit opinions don’t matter. Literally nothing you’ve ever done or said has been of any consequence to anyone.
Dad?
Just look at that weird lil’ sad sack fucker.“Free speech means I can say what I want and you can’t be mad at me.” Just weak-ass horseshit.
On one hand, I feel bad for pathetic little fucks like him. The internet has pumped them so full of hate and resentment that they honestly don’t know what else to do with it all. Taking his rage out on the internet is the snake eating its own tail.On the other hand, I hope he’s out somewhere right now getting curb stomped by a Navy SEAL.
Yeah, I can’t feel bad for it. I could’ve gone that route, had I not grown as a person and looked at the brash idiocy of my youth. And even if one doesn’t have help (I didn’t), people with brains and even basic curiosity can get there eventually.Me? Couldn’t care less if the dude stays a toxic, pathetic fuckstick whining on every Trans thread he sees. It’s transparently stupid. Of, like, a 17-y-o vintage.
Definitely not making excuses for that little failed abortion. I just wonder where they go from wherever they are. It could be some shithead posting in between Jack in the Box shifts, or it could be a US senator. You never know, I guess.
Hey there.Please, explain how a recorded dedication to a school theater and then a ramble about free speech is Comedy.Take your grain of salt and your grass, mix em together with the horseshit you’re talking here, and swallow the whole lot down like the good little stan you are.
Yeah and you’re a nobody loser
Yes, trans people- who have been bearing the brunt of attacks both physical and political in increasing measure- just need to touch grass, because surely a well known comedian spouting anti-trans garbage under the guise of comedy will not in any way harm them.
Actually, that’s all pretty accurate, yeah.
Yeah that’s not true
So no one can ever criticize comedy because it’s comedy… That’s some really snowflaky bs right there.
*you’re
Come on white people, there must be some way we can silence this uppity black man who won’t parrot the opinions we hold.
You do know that Black LGBT+ folks critique Chappelle’s transphobic garbage and are the folks harmed the most by it?
AV Club and Jezebel have taken this stance that stand-up comedy must have boundaries and transgender people are outside of those boundaries. Ok. You’re obviously free to feel that way and hold that opinion. That isn’t how this work however. Either we can tell jokes about everything and anyone or nothing at all. You may not like it. You might be offended by it for legitimate reasons. Some of you are certainly offended by it simply because we are addicted to a culture of outrage. Just a whole flock of internet Karen’s. Comedy shows in clubs, theaters and arenas are not warm and soft safe places. For decades upon decades upon decades they have been a place we can go to watch a stand-up comedian push the envelope and pull a specific reaction from an audience. It’s a show, remember? Routinely a standup comedian will take a position on stage that is opposite to their own personal beliefs simply because it works better within their routine. Regardless of what their personal beliefs are, the good ones go in whatever direction is funniest and they determine that by working out material on stage and seeing how the audience reacts. It IS funny. You might not think it is. I might not think it is. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands do however. The people who buy tickets to live shows think these jokes are funny. It is extraordinarily rare for a headliner to be in the news because people left their show unimpressed. Enough people are buying tickets and selling out shows. If he or other comedians were no longer considered to be funny…their ticket sales would dwindle and their opportunities to work on other projects would be diminished. If you think Tom Segura, Christina P, Bill Burr, Bobby Lee, Ali Wong, Dave Chappelle, Annie Lederman, Tig Notaro, Ricky Gervais, Whitney Cummings, Bert Kreischer, Chris DiStefano, Ms. Pat and many others are funny…don’t ever buy tickets to their shows. If they have a comedy special, don’t watch it. If they are involved in other projects, well you can avoid those as well. If the majority of people do not believe they are funny, their careers will suffer. You don’t need a personal crusade however. Thy are just jokes.
Someone should put a fucking bullet in chappelle’s bigoted skull.
Do people who condemn chappelle actually watch all of his stuff? Do they take into account they’re watching comedy rather than a political rally or an interview? Whilst I agree some of his jokes miss and some of the things he says is slightly childish and self-aggrandizing ultimately I think he’s part of the solution rather than the problem. Do I think he’s transphobic? No.Are some of his jokes transphobic? Maybe? But I think taking everything he says literally is a fool’s errand. If you take The Closer as a whole I think it’s clear he isn’t transphobic but the more he gets poked down that root the more he wants to joke about it, muddying the waters.But ultimately whilst there are actual sexist, transphobic, and racist movements and laws take place villianizing Chappelle is a waste of time.
The missing thread here though is that those movements and laws stem from cultural attitudes which often stem from consumed media. If your favorite cultural figure tells you trans people aren’t people – then you’re more likely to support (or at least not care enough to oppose) real-world legislative harm to them.
Sure pop culture and art can normalise certain behaviour. But I disagree when you say Chappelle has said trans people are people. I would agree that from memory his earlier specials showed some ignorance but if you take his specials as a whole he’s shown growth on the subject.
“If your favorite cultural figure tells you trans people aren’t people”Would you take into consideration, though, that very much isn’t what he says?
Do people who condemn chappelle actually watch all of his stuff? Do they take into account they’re watching comedy rather than a political rally or an interview?
Then why isn’t it funny?
Whilst I agree some of his jokes miss
His jokes have missed since his very first Netflix special years ago.
ultimately I think he’s part of the solution rather than the problem.
What problem is Chappelle a solution to?
Are some of his jokes transphobic? Maybe?
They’re clearly transphobic. If you say “Maybe” then maybe it’s because you’re a transphobe.
the more he gets poked down that root the more he wants to joke about it
Nobody’s forcing Chappelle to make these ‘jokes’.
I think his work is very funny. This speech less so but it wasn’t a special so wasn’t expecting it to be laugh out loud funny/entertaining.Thought the closer was great.Look if you said some of the things Chappelle say in his specials out of context, they’d be racist, transphobic and sexist. But I think he navigates the line fine enough.Really mature to go straight into ad hominem and calling me a transphobe for finding Chappelle funny.
Really mature to go straight into ad hominem and calling me a transphobe for finding Chappelle funny.
If the shoe fits…
Your using a shoe horn to legitimize calling someone a name because he disagrees with you.
Look if you said some of the things Chappelle say in his specials out of
context, they’d be racist, transphobic and sexist. But I think he
navigates the line fine enough.
What you see as navigating the line plenty of other people see as trying to have his cake and eat it too. He gets all his transphobic material out and then tries to walk it back here and there with half-assed platitudes, but it comes off as more and more disingenuous every time. He’s clearly having fun poking the beehive and has signaled loud and clear that he has no intention of listening to the trans community, so it’s all but impossible to take him in good faith at this point.
If you make transphobic jokes and don’t apologize for them you’re transphobic
I think some people are trying to draw a distinction between actions and beliefs. If being transphobic means that a person hates trans people (for simplicity’s sake – I don’t think it’s necessarily restricted to “hate”), then you could argue that it would be possible for a person to tell a transphobic joke without hating trans people, and thus being a transphobic person (as to why they would do so – to appear “edgy”?)
The question one then needs to ask, I think, is whether this distinction actually matters. Off the top of my head, I could probably make a better argument that it doesn’t.
I don’t think it does either. Intent is irrelevant when you’re putting harmful views out there
I was a fan and watched The Closer wanting to believe his critics were wrong. But that whole segment was pretty much what people are saying it is — a very, very long, weirdly defensive, sloppily conceived transphobic rant with a few lukewarm ha-ha’s so he could pretend it’s comedy. There were parts of the special I enjoyed, but that and the similarly bizarre and off-key rant later on about the victimization of Kevin Hart (?!) killed the whole thing for me. More than anything I felt sad for him. I really believe he’s lost his mind.
Yes to all the questions in your comment.
Really weird take on a piece about a speech at a high school that is specifically *not* a comedy routine.“Do they take into account they’re watching comedy rather than a political rally or an interview?” Did you not read the article you’re commenting on, or did you just not take it into account?
No I’m aware what the article is for and that it was a speech and all that. Was more reacting to the authors starting position and the starting position of many others when it comes to chappelle, and trying yo understand it.
Okay, so you read it, and then you decided to not take into account it was an article about a speech at a high school when you said “Do they take into account they’re watching comedy”.Again, super weird take. If you want to criticize the views of so “many”, surely you could find an article that’s actually about someone watching his comedy?
“Why do Netflix give him a platform and not just show the boutique TV I like? Nobody cares what he says!” Netflix will drop him when nobody watches his stuff but right now it’s obvious a lot of people are obsessed with everything he does.
Is JK Rowling his ghostwriter?
Let me know when Chappelle starts making jokes about children dying of cancer. Or dead 9/11 first responders. Or women forced to carry a fetus conceived during a rape. That would be gross, obviously, but at least he would be truly testing the boundaries of what can and can’t be said.
Until then, he’s just a transphobic asshole safely attacking a marginalized community for attention and money.
Remember when Louis CK did a club gig after the roof fell in on him, and his ‘jokes’ were about how uppity school shooting survivors were? I wonder how many red state gigs he booked from that one.
true, its always him bravely fighting people who cannot fight back. the irony is that we could use old dave back. lotta stuff old dave could have made some really insightful comments on…but old dave has been replaced by this joe rogan/andrew dice clay wanna-be.
Yeah, how is it “dangerous” to make fun of an oppressed minority? There were somewhere around a dozen new statewide anti-trans laws that went into effect on July 1. I’m not going to sit here and rattle off more statistics, but I hope it’s clear to people that the multimillionaire with multiple mansions is not risking anything by making fun of vulnerable strangers.
Is anyone actually telling Chapelle he can’t say anything? From everything I have read people are telling him he shouldn’t say things, and that certain things he says shouldn’t be celebrated or rewarded. It doesn’t sound like much of a difference but it is a pretty big one.
I’m not offended by Chappelle, because I don’t take offense to speech or art. However I don’t find him funny either lately, and think Netflix is just trying to be provocative.Personally I think we should all live and let live. Can’t agree with the Tipper Gore types, basically Republican Karens masquerading as “liberals,” trying to silence artists. They’ve tried to do this with metal, gangsta rap, mafia movies and shows, Mappelthorpe, porn, you name it. We’ve all seen the type and know who they are – those who think they know what is best for everyone and don’t know where the “off” button is. Half of them are probably part of the religious right.
So tired
Its real weird that this article wants to rip into chappele, even though Dave said he’s taking a break from stand up after his trans friend committed suicide from online bullying. Dave is for the trans community, not against. Whoever wrote this article, did not watch his last Netflix special.
You have to be a trans ally IN THE RIGHT WAY.
That made-up story with zero evidence about a woman Chappelle barely bothered to know? The bs story that blames the trans community for pushing a woman into suicide, when that did not happen per everyone that actually knew her?
Stop replying to these brand-new accounts who only signed up here to troll. Dismiss and report them instead.
Fuck you and your brand-new account and its one post. Get your shit and piss off back to Reddit with the rest of the idiot children.
NOTES FROM THE GRAYS: Your entire life is a monument to mediocrity and failure ~The Weirdest, Most Pathetic, Most Fragile Fuckstick Circling the AVC DrainFunny, the lil’ guy always comes out when trans shit is being discussed. Because he’s an absolute, gasping moron who thinks (and this is true) that people talking about trans issues (at all) is what is going to cost the Democrats the midterms.See? Fucking idiot.Enjoy being a weird, pathetic fuckstick, sweetie.
You mean that laserfacelvr shit stain?If you want to instantly prove to me that you’re a kiddiot, needlessly use the word ‘literally’. Works every time.
Yep, that one.
I always get so pissed at myself when I realize I’ve replied to that guy (or recognitions) because I should know who it is before even clicking the button.
I got my shithead radar upgraded over the winter. Worth every penny.
He thinks repeatedly calling me old is really doing something. I think he’s got a granny fetish or some fucked up mommy issues or something.
This embarrassing ghoul hasn’t been funny in ages, he just whines and feels sorry for himself (from a place of extreme privilege and power, no less)He’s a petulant little baby if his genuine reaction is “I have to keep saying anything you tell me no to, no matter what it is, just because you told me not to.” That’s what a little kid would say, not a thoughtful adult. If he really believes that, then does he think I should be running around shouting the n-word on stage, regardless of content or context, just because I’ve been told not to?Speech is not free of consequence, nothing is (unless you’re rich enough), all adults know that all action has consequence, and these idiots who think that comedy is about pissing people off have no idea what funny is or why it is funny. Never thought I’d see the day where Dave Chappelle forgot how comedy works.The guy genuinely had talent, at one point, but those days are long past and the more he persists, the more diluted that legacy becomes.When he, with impossible arrogance, claims he’s a once in a lifetime talent, I hope that’s a promise.
What are the odds Netflix released this as a way to honor a contract without having to pay for the production of another controversial special? Maybe they’re sick of the outcry and they want to get out of the contract ASAP?
I posed the same question upthread. “Okay, one more down! Now someone go get some footage of him ordering lunch.”
I was on a family vacation with my sister and her kids recently. My 3 1/2 year old nephew kept walking up to my 7 year old niece and calling her gibberish names. He kept doing it solely because it upset the 7 year old and got a reaction out of her. Not sure what made me think of that.
So Dave Chappelle has the same maturity level as a 3-year-old. Glad we cleared that up.
He’s not afraid of Trans folk. Get your descriptions straight. Buncombe fucking babies!
This is dumb and pointless. There’s no need to keep re-hashing the same shit because “muh freeze peach”…his free speech is readily available via Netflix or if somebody wants to go to one of his shows. We know already what you think, ya hack.
Free speech? How about freedom of ones own body!?
He sure seems cancelled to me.
I still think he’s hilarious but DAMN, the guy should move on. Look at the enormous wealth of material our crazy as Hell society has handed him to work with. But for a LOOONG time now it’s been nothing but the damn fallout from the Trans comments. Was so hoping The Closer really was the end of it. Hell, I’d have to do a Google search to remember exactly what he said in the first place to set everyone off.
“The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say.”So he’s just a contrarian. Can’t wait for his next special where he starts yelling “FIRE FIRE FIRE” in a crowded theatre.
He’s Dennis Miller now. Whatever Chappelle once was is gone. He’s just an old guy yelling at clouds.
Students organizing in this sort of way is 100% a valid exercise of free speech. People criticizing or boycotting Netflix for continuing to showcase and defend Chappelle’s sad decline into bitter irrelevancy is also free speech. Boycotts and speaking out as an organized group against an undemocratic entity like a corporation is as American as it gets.
And yet Netflix continues to silence me by refusing to host my documentary, Things I Found in My Toilet (Which Are Poop). I remember a time when we had freedoms in America!
The remnants of the A.V. Club doth protest too much.
Jesus people are still writing nonsense like this about Dave? Its really small and pathetic. Do better clickbaiting trolls!
I guess this is what it’s like when all the “you’re the best in the biz!” praises go to someone’s head, eh? The Closer’s a classic? A classic piece of shit, maybe.
You’re wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong again! Just plain wrong. WRONG-O! Sir, Wrongington, of Wrongshire. Duke Wrongfellow III. W-R-O-N-G.P.S. You’re wrong (absolutely, 100%, totally wrong.)
Theory: Netflix has got a multi-picture deal with him, and so they’re agreeing to buy any old tosh from him just to burn through the deliverables of the contract.I don’t really think, despite the noises made by their CEO, that Netflix would put ideology ahead of money, and the long form view is surely “meet the terms of the deal so we don’t have to pay out penalties to Chappelle, and then cut ties so we don’t get boycotts, walkouts, etc”
It’s funny how you all can’t wait to watch anything Chappelle says and they run off to Twitter and AV Club to complain about it. If you all stop listening to him, he will fade away. Keep giving him the free publicity.
Chapelle outrage and Stranger Things are the only things keeping this site alive.
You must be one of the editors the editor of AV Club.
I wish. There’d be a lot more nudity around here.
This, along with Netflix hastily stopping the Vince McMahon documentary due to today’s cover-up news, clearly shows a bias I am not willing to support as a consumer.
Ok kids. You all seem pretty confident about how things should be, so perhaps you can help me understand stuff. I’m a fifty-something gay man, out since I was 18. Since then the role of the LGBT community within society has transformed more than I thought was possible. I’ve been hearing an idea lately, along the lines that people of color have been systematically excluded from the community, or more crudely put, that white men took something authentic created by “Black and Brown” trans women and made it into a Pride parade.
This makes me kinda sad because this and some other popular elements of our subculture among the youth demonstrate a misunderstanding, and often outright ignorance, of how things changed. I can tell you, whenever there was a community gathering, whether it was a night at a bar or a call to crucial political activism, inclusivity was expressed and practiced. Because we were fighting battles against a hostile society and we could not afford to turn away a single soul. We flew the rainbow flag, not just because rainbows are pretty, but also for the spectrum of light representing the spectrum of people. Of race, cultures, ideas, and desires.
Believing and expressing that white G’s somehow hindered the advancement of all the Ls, Bs, and Ts not only dishonors what we really did together, it will reverse progress. It was not so long ago that instead of community there was blackmail and betrayal in terrified attempts to keep the closet intact. Can’t you see if we don’t stick together they can pick us off, one by one?
It isn’t hard for me to understand that somebody might identify as a gender other than how it was assigned. I’m totally on board with respecting that expression of a person’s internal sensibility and preference for mode of interaction. But what is the purpose of the pronoun enforcement regime? If, despite the my wide margins of experience with gender polarity and gender bending, I don’t perceive what is expected in a person, that’s not my fault. From my perspective, it seems that through implied guilt of an imagined past oppression, I am automatically expected to compromise my internal sensibilities about gender. That isn’t fair and frankly, feels oppressive. And this accommodation, while it may have been appropriate in public schools, won’t serve you as an adult. Respect is only born from honesty. Isn’t it people who don’t respect you that will tell you what you want to hear to gain favor?
Finally, what is the purpose of promoting the word “queer”? I’ll spare the lecture for now, but this isn’t how the word was used by activists such as “Queer Nation”. It wasn’t about positive psychology or “reclaiming” a word. And it’s not even close to being reclaimed in the larger culture. Most people, and many in our community, still hear a slur in that word.
If you didn’t learn, or let alone enjoy that speech. then you need to reassess yourself.
i wonder if they’re just running out his contract and airing whatever they can at this point to be rid of him. there’s no way he’s still pulling subscribers.
What part was transphobic? That trans women weren’t biologically the same as cis women? It’s amazing nobody talks about the bit where he jokes about beating up a lesbian. Do women not count?
My first post on this topic is still in “pending approval” limbo, over a week later. Does somebody think my questions are too upsetting? I’d like to know, because if so, that would go some way toward answering them.