The (current) Dave Chappelle controversy shows no sign of slowing down, and a lot of that has to do with Dave’s unapologetic mindset. He recently declared himself willing to sit down with trans Netflix employees but issued a list of demands in order to do so. One of those demands was for them to “admit that Hannah Gadsby” (the Emmy-winning comedian of Netflix’s Nanette) “is not funny.” That led to a lot of eye rolls from Gadsby supporters, all while Chappelle seems really steamed that he’s being shut out of film festivals, and “thank God for Ted Sarandos and Netflix, he’s the only one that didn’t cancel me yet.”
The whole mess sources from Chappelle’s The Closer, in which he proclaimed that he’s “Team TERF” and aligns with J.K. Rowling’s beliefs on the subject. The Gadsby-directed ire sources from the Peabody winner expressing disappointment in how Sarandos paid Chappelle “20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial world view.”
And one wonders whether Chappelle actually expects a call from Netflix employees after he listed demands. If the response from one walkout organizer (and trans activist) is any indication, then yeah, it’s not too likely to happen. Ashlee Marie Preston spoke with the Washington Post to reveal how she previously did want to talk to Chappelle (about his transphobic remarks in the 2019 Sticks and Stones special), but she calls his current response “unfortunate.” She added, “Essentially, he was mocking us.”
Preston believes that Chappelle is being “not genuine” by issuing demands to Netflix employees, and she’s not thrilled with how he’s also drawing parallels to his situation and the murder of George Floyd. Here’s more from Washington Post:
In the performance Chappelle posted on Instagram, he claimed that since backlash erupted over “The Closer,” film festivals won’t screen a new documentary called “Untitled,” which shows how he dealt with the death of George Floyd during the global pandemic. “You have to answer the question: Am I canceled or not?” Chappelle said to a crowd that responded with a collective “no.”
Preston said she believed that in referencing Floyd and claiming that his film was pulled from festivals, Chappelle was framing himself as a victim and pitting the transgender and Black communities against each other. “He already did that in ‘The Closer,’” she said. “He already pit Blackness against queerness as if Black trans and queer folks don’t exist.”
Netflix hasn’t commented upon Dave’s issued list of requirements to sit down with its employees. However, Sarandos previously claimed that “content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.” The streamer later issued an apologetic statement ahead of last week’s employee walkout.
(Via Washington Post)