During the controversy over Dave Chappelle‘s last special, The Closer, fellow comedian Hannah Gadsby found themselves dragged into the situation thanks to Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. In an effort to highlight Netflix’s commitment to providing content from a variety of voices in addition to Chappelle’s, Sarandos named Gadsby as an example, and they did not appreciate the shoutout.
“Hey Ted Sarandos. Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess,” Gadsby wrote on Instagram. “Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial word view.”
After Gadsby called out Sarandos, Chappelle also called out Gadsby in his list of demands for meeting with trans Netflix employees. According to Chappelle, he’d only agree to a sit down if the employees “admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny,” which led to Chappelle being criticized on Twitter for the dig.
Since then, Gadsby and Netflix reached an agreement, and the comedian is back with their latest comedy set, Something Special. Despite their outspoken criticism of Chappelle, Gadsby doesn’t mention him once in the new material, and they recently explained to Variety why that’s the case:
For a start, it’s boring. There was a time in the tour when it was certainly in front of my mind, and then it very quickly receded. My audience likes me because they don’t like the usual toxic perspective, and to talk about him would be to center his conversation — and I just don’t want that voice to be dictating how I approach my work. I didn’t think he said anything that I was interested in, and that’s what I would have to do in order to talk about Dave Chappelle — I would have to begin with Dave Chappelle, and I don’t want to.
As for whether they would ever sit down with Chappelle, Gadsby doesn’t foresee this in the future.
“Apparently, I have to do it on his terms. So, no. I just think it’s a toxic place. I don’t think he’s open. I just don’t think it’s constructive,” Gadsby said. “There is nuance, and there is intersectionality at play here. But he’s not engaging in that yet, and I’m not gonna make him.
Hannah Gadsby: Something Special is available for streaming on Netflix.
(Via Variety)