Dave Chappelle Gets Support From Netflix CEO Amid ‘The Closer’ Backlash: Stand-Up Comedy Exists To Push Boundaries

Dave Chappelle

Dave Chappelle Gets Support From Netflix CEO Amid ‘The Closer’ Backlash: Stand-Up Comedy Exists To Push Boundaries

While justice organizations and LGBT groups are calling for Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix standup to be pulled due to its anti-transgender rhetoric, the CEO of Netflix is standing by the comedian.

Dave Chappelle was previously slammed for his comments in Netflix’s The Closer by several groups, including The National Black Justice Coalition, which urged Netflix to remove the special from its platform. It said in a statement,

“With 2021 on track to be the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States — the majority of whom are Black transgender people — Netflix should know better. Perpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence. Netflix should immediately pull ‘The Closer’ from its platform and directly apologize to the transgender community.”

Jaclyn Moore, the showrunner for Netflix’s hit show Dear White People who identifies as a trans woman, also threatened to boycott. She wrote on social media:

“I love so many of the people I’ve worked with at Netflix. Brilliant people and executives who have been collaborative and fought for important art….But I’ve been thrown against walls because, “I’m not a ‘real’ woman.” I’ve had beer bottles thrown at me. So, @netflix, I’m done.”

Dave Chappelle, Jaclyn Moore

Moore added,

“Taps a microphone. After the Chappelle special, I can’t do this anymore. I won’t work for @netflix again as long as they keep promoting and profiting from dangerous transphobic content.”

“I wanted to follow-up on the “The Closer” — Dave Chappelle’s latest special — as several of you have reached out following QBR asking what to say to your teams. It never feels good when people are hurting, especially our colleagues, so I wanted to give you some additional context. You should also be aware that some talent may join third parties in asking us to remove the show in the coming days, which we are not going to do.”

He added,

“Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him. His last special “Sticks & Stones,” also controversial, is our most watched., stickiest and most award winning stand-up special to date. As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom – even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, like “Cuties,” “365 Days,” “13 Reasons Why” or “My Unorthodox Life.””

He further explained,

“Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don’t allow titles Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line. I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean-spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering.”

He continued,

“In terms of our commitment to inclusion, we’re working hard to ensure more people see their lives reflected on screen and that under-represented communities are not defined by the singe [sic] story. So we’re proud of titles like “Sex Education,” “Young Royals,” “Control Z” and “Disclosure.” Externally, particularly in stand-up comedy, artistic freedom is obviously a very different standard of speech than we allow internally as the goals are different: entertaining people versus maintaining a respectful, productive workplace.”

He concluded,

“Today’s conversation on Entertain the World was timely. These are hard and uncomfortable issues. We all bring different values and perspectives so thank you for being part of the conversation as it’s important we’re clear about our operating principals.”

Do you agree with his remarks? Comment and let us know.

[VIA]