Dave Chappelle responds to transgender outrage: 'I am not bending to anybody’s demands'



Legendary comedian Dave Chappelle responded to the outrage against his comments on "The Closer" comedy special in a video he posted to his Instagram account Monday.

The video shows Chappelle addressing the issue during a stand-up comedy session Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee, with a large audience.

"It's been said in the press that I was invited to speak to the transgender employees of Netflix and I refused. That is not true — if they had invited me I would have accepted it, although I am confused about what we would be speaking about," Chappelle said in the video.

"I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix," he continued.

"Well, it seems like I'm the only one that can't go to the office anymore!" he quipped to loud applause.

He went on to say that he had created a documentary that had been accepted by many film festivals until the controversy over his special, after which they canceled.

"I want everyone in this audience to know that even though the media frames it that it's me versus that community, that is not what it is. Do not blame the LBGTQ [sic] community for any of this s***. This has nothing to do with them. It's about corporate interests and what I can say and what I cannot say," Chappelle said to more loud applause.

Chappelle said the documentary would instead play at select theaters in 10 major cities. He also said he was willing to meet with the transgender community but only under his conditions.

"To the transgender community, I am more than willing to give you an audience, but you will not summon me. I am not bending to anybody's demands. And if you want to meet with me, I'd be more than willing to, but I have some conditions," he said.

"First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing at a time of my choosing, and thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny!" he added.

Gadsby was one of the comedians who lashed out at Netflix over the controversy.

"For the record, and I need you to know this," Chappelle added, "everyone I know from that community has been loving and supporting, so I don't know what all this nonsense is about."

Here's the video from Dave Chappelle:

Dave Chappelle - Stunted | Addressing the controversywww.youtube.com

Netflix CEO shuts down internal critics threatening walkout over Dave Chappelle: Stand-up comedy does not incite ‘real-world harm’



Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is standing firm against internal pressure to pull stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle's latest special from the video streaming service, arguing that "content on screen doesn't directly translate to real-world harm."

What are the details?

In a pair of internal memos issued over the past week, the executive shot down critics from within and outside the company who claim that the special, titled "The Closer," should be removed for content they deem transphobic.

"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," Sarandos said in an original memo to company leadership, obtained by Variety.

"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 added.

Then in a follow-up memo to all staff also obtained by Variety, he doubled down on the company's position:

With The Closer, we understand that the concern is not about offensive-to-some content but titles which could increase real world harm (such as further marginalizing already marginalized groups, hate, violence etc.) Last year, we heard similar concerns about 365 Days and violence against women. While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn't directly translate to real-world harm.

... In his special, Chappelle makes harsh jokes about many different groups, which is his style and a reason his fans love his comedy and commentary. Stand-up comedians often expose issues that are uncomfortable because the art by nature is a highly provocative. As a leadership team, we do not believe that The Closer is intended to incite hatred or violence against anyone (per our Sensitive Content guidelines).

Sarandos noted in the memo that "The Closer" is far from the first title the streaming service has hosted to contain content that may be considered offensive. He went on to list other titles such as "Sex Education," "Orange is the New Black," "Control Z," and "Hannah Gadsby" as examples of other controversial features.

What's the background?

In "The Closer" special, Chappelle, a firebrand comedian known for cutting and controversial jokes, sparked outrage by poking fun at transgender people's "thin skin" and blasting the effects of "cancel culture."

He also declared that "gender is a fact," to the ire of transgender activists, adding, "Every human being in this room, every human being on earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on earth. That is a fact."

Netflix's hosting of the show immediately drew backlash from the LGBTQ community and those supportive of the community within the company.

Some employees — including a queer transgender one — decided to show their displeasure by crashing an executive meeting in protest. They were promptly removed and later suspended.

Others have threatened to stage a companywide walkout on Oct. 20 in protest, according to The Verge.

"Trans Lives Matter. Trans Rights Matter. And as an organization, Netflix has continually failed to show deep care in our mission to Entertain the World by repeatedly releasing content that harms the Trans community and continually failing to create content that represents and uplifts Trans content. We can and must do better!" a leader of the trans ERG reportedly wrote in an internal organizing message.

Whitlock: Kyrie Irving and Dave Chappelle are leading real men out of the closet



Men are coming out of the closet. Black men. NBA star Kyrie Irving. Comedic superstar Dave Chappelle. Former NBA player-turned-YouTuber Kwame Brown.

Black men are escaping the cages that the matriarchy, the LGBTQ movement, and liberal orthodoxy constructed to tame, house, and emasculate us over the last six decades.

Back in July, I wrote a column that touched on the 1965 Moynihan Report, "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action." Daniel Patrick Moynihan worked in President Lyndon Johnson's administration. The Moynihan Report argued that America needed to fortify the black family by investing in the black man. President Johnson initially supported the Moynihan Report. He pulled his support when leftist activists and the mainstream media framed Moynihan's research and solution as racist.

The smearing of Moynihan and his report allowed President Johnson to pivot to his Great Society initiative, which funneled money toward women and non-traditional, single-parent families.

The full-scale emasculation of American men began with the rejection of the Moynihan Report. Black men were on the front lines. We were the first casualties, the initial conquest, the original men forced to apologize for the sin of maleness and masculine values. We were taught to closet our true nature, accept roles subservient to black women, and remake the church into an institution that serves the matriarchy and the politics of Democrats.

The "mission accomplished" flag has been flying atop black men for a solid 40 years. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are in the process of raising the flag over white men.

Men — traditional ones with biblical values — have been made to feel ashamed of their beliefs, their nature, and the responsibilities God prescribed for them in the Gospel. We're trapped in the closet. When we're out in public spaces, we adhere to the principles and sensibilities prescribed by the church of Silicon Valley and Big Tech. Twitter, Facebook, Google, Instagram, YouTube, etc., disciple us and dictate our behavior.

That's why I'm so happy and inspired that Kyrie Irving, Dave Chappelle, and Kwame Brown have come out of the closet as real men. I'm hoping it's a trend. I'm hoping it will give other men the courage to come out of the closet as men.

Irving is risking nearly $200 million with his decision to fight the NBA's vaccine policies. The Nets have banned him from their facilities until he takes the jab. Irving's noncompliance could be the most courageous form of athletic civil disobedience since Muhammad Ali refused induction into the United States military.

It's not just the financial risk Irving is taking. Like Ali, he's defying the establishment, he's disobeying the ruling government doctrine, he's taking an unpopular position and inviting mainstream media ridicule. Irving is standing against medical tyranny and standing for American freedom.

Unlike LeBron James, Colin Kaepernick, and the other China-beholden American influencers, Irving isn't crowdsourcing his actions through Twitter's rigged algorithms.

The same goes for Chappelle. His latest Netflix comedy special, "The Closer," shredded the feminist and LGBTQ movements. And when the instruments used to cage and emasculate men attacked him for his routine, Chappelle didn't back down. He called them out by name.

"F*** Twitter. F*** NBC News, ABC News, all these stupid-ass networks. I'm not talking to them. I'm talking to you. This is real life," Chappelle told an audience in Los Angeles.

Chappelle's courage is infectious. He's allowing men, comedians in particular, to come out of the closet. Comedic legend Damon Wayans told TMZ:

"I feel like Dave freed the slaves — the comedians. We were slaves to PC culture, and as an artist, he's Vincent Van Gogh. He cut his ear off, and he's trying to tell us, 'It's OK.'"

It's OK to be a man. A heterosexual one. A Christian man. A religious man. A masculine man. It's OK to see yourself as a provider, a protector, a leader, a conqueror. Don't feel any pressure to tap into your feminine side, to believe men can get pregnant or that there's virtue in wearing a dress.

Do you.

That's what Kwame Brown has been doing in 2021. Brown, the former No. 1 draft pick, unleashed his masculine energy on podcasters and former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. Brown tired of being ridiculed publicly as a bust and challenged his critics on his YouTube platform. Brown was raw and profane and occasionally menacing.

But he attracted a large audience because he was authentic. He's a good old boy from the South who delivers a message of self-responsibility and a traditional role for men. He's not homophobic. He's just not going to apologize for being a traditional man. He's not trying to display his emotional side.

Emotion undermines logic and masculinity.

That's why I was so disappointed to see Randy Moss on national television crying about an email that included a derogatory comment about the size of DeMaurice Smith's enormous lips.

Moss has no idea that he's playing an emasculated role designed for black men 60 years ago. He's swallowed the entire BLM-LGBTQ-CRT Alphabet Mafia narrative that the black man is incapable of being the man God designed. I reject that and all who believe it.

Sixty years ago, the founders of the Alphabet Mafia removed the black man from his family, which did unprecedented damage to the black boy and established a black culture dominated by women and ruled by emotion.

The white man and his family are next on the chopping block. The process has already begun.

The only solution is for men to come out of the closet and join Kyrie, Chappelle, and Kwame.

Netflix suspends three employees, including a queer transgender person, for crashing executive meeting over Dave Chappelle



Netflix suspended three employees, including a person who identified as queer and transgender, for crashing an executive meeting to express their opposition to comedian Dave Chappelle's comments about transgender people.

Terra Field, the trans queer person, had also criticized the popular video streaming service in a lengthy diatribe on Twitter.

Netflix said Monday that the company suspended the employees for interrupting the executive meeting of about 500 people, and not for voicing opposition to the controversial comedy special.

"It is absolutely untrue to say that we have suspended any employees for tweeting about this show. Our employees are encouraged to disagree openly and we support their right to do so," a Netflix spokesperson told Variety.

Field claimed in the Twitter tirade that comments like those from Chappelle led directly to transgender people of color being murdered.

"What we object to is the harm that content like this does to the trans community (especially trans people of color) and VERY specifically Black trans women. People who look like me aren't being killed," tweeted Field.

Field went through a list of 38 transgender murder victims before adding, "These are the people that a callous disregard for the lives of trans people by our society have taken from us, and they all deserved better."

Despite the uproar from some on the left, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended the special.

"Chapelle 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," Sarandos wrote in a memo obtained by Variety.

"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," he added.

Here's more about the Chappelle comedy special:

Dave Defends Women: Chappelle Says Gender Is a Fact! | You Are Herewww.youtube.com

Dave Chappelle mocks attempts to cancel him for 'transphobic' comments, blasts mainstream media: 'F*** NBC News, ABC News, all these stupid a** networks'



Dave Chappelle has been embroiled in controversy this week because of comments deemed to be "transphobic" in his latest comedy special. The legendary stand-up comedian mocked cancel culture, fired back at the critics who attacked him, and blasted the mainstream media that wrote hit pieces on him.

Chappelle performed a stand-up comedy show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, where several celebrities were in attendance, including Brad Pitt, Stevie Wonder, Jon Hamm, Snoop Dogg, and Lizzo. Chappelle received a standing ovation from the crowd of 18,000, and he jokingly responded, "If this is what being canceled is about, I love it."

Chappelle – who was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2019 – hammed the mainstream media, "F*** Twitter, F*** NBC News, ABC News, all these stupid ass networks. I'm not talking to them. I'm talking to you, this is real life."

NBC News was lambasted for a hit piece on Chappelle's new Netflix stand-up special "The Closer." "NBC News reported that Chappelle 'drew a swift backlash,' but then cited only three Twitter users; one who identified as a 'trans woman' activist with roughly 1,000 Twitter followers, another with only 200 followers and a third was another activist with roughly 43,000 followers," according to Fox News.

Chappelle was attacked by critics for saying that gender is real, admitting that he is a "TERF" (the acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist), and accusations of "ridiculing trans people" during his latest stand-up special.

GLAAD rebuked Chappelle's comments about LGBTQ individuals.

"Dave Chappelle's brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities," the LGBTQ organization said in a statement. "Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don't support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree."

"The Closer" has a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The National Black Justice Coalition's executive director David Johns demanded that Netflix yank the highly-rated comedy special, "Netflix should immediately pull 'The Closer' from its platform and directly apologize to the transgender community."

Trans Netflix producer Jaclyn Moore slammed the streaming network for allowing the comedy special to air.

"I want to be clear that Dave Chappelle should be free to say whatever he wants and I should be free to say whatever I would like about him," said Moore, the executive producer and showrunner of the Netflix series "Dear White People." "Not to let Chappelle off the hook, but my bigger issue is with Netflix. This isn't a live special. It was filmed, finished and people watched it and nobody said, 'Hey, are we sure this is good? Are we sure this is OK? Are we sure this isn't dangerous? What are the consequences of putting this out?'"

Moore also said she would stop working with Netflix "as long as they continue to put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content."

"The Closer" is currently the third most popular show or movie on Netflix.

'Dear White People' showrunner quits Netflix to protest Dave Chappelle's transgender jokes, but its backfiring badly online



A white transgender showrunner is leaving Netflix over comments made by iconic comedian Dave Chappelle on his stand-up comedy special, but the boycott backfired badly on social media.

Jaclyn Moore said on Twitter that Chappelle had been one of her heroes but that his controversial comments on his latest special have forced her to leave the network.

"Chappelle was one of my heroes. I was at his comeback show in NYC," tweeted Moore. "He compared my existence to someone doing blackface. He talks about someone winning a Woman of the Year award despite never having a period should make women mad and that it makes him mad."

Moore said she could not work for a company that allowed Chappelle to "misgender" people.

"I just can't... I can't be a part of a company that thinks that's worth putting out and celebrating," Moore added.

What was the reaction?

Moore's protest, however, was met with bewilderment by many black users on Twitter who were surprised and upset to discover that the show, "Dear White People," was written in part by a white transgender woman.

"Wait a f***in minute. The show 'dear white people', which is supposedly about black ppl's struggles & has a 90s soundtrack has a lead producer that is non-black??? & wants to boycott a black man???" read one popular tweet.

"I'm so happy that the trans woman who is behind "Dear White People" tried to virtue signal against Dave Chapelle, and now people are finding out this person is white. Talk about backfiring. lol," replied another critic.

"The showrunner of Dear White People is not only a white woman, but a person who spent the majority of her life enjoying the privilege of a white man. And now she calls for boycott of a black man because he doesn't acquiesce to her world view," read one tweet.

"White trans woman who profited off Black trauma via a show called Dear White People trying to get Dave Chappelle canceled for calling out racism within the LGBTQ community? That's interesting," read another tweet.

"Netflix Dear White People showrunner may get canceled for trying to get someone else canceled," responded another detractor.

"People are just now finding out that white Liberals control black content because Dave Chappelle pissed off the Dear White People showrunner. Wait until they find out they control black politics," quipped another Twitter user.

Chappelle's comedy special, "The Closer," has a 96% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. All three critic reviews are negative.

Here's an interview with Moore about the show:

Justin Simien and Jaclyn Moore on Dear White People Season 4 and the End of the Serieswww.youtube.com

Whitlock: Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special channels Patrick Henry and Malcolm X and lays bare the war between black men and the Alphabet Mafia



The society that outlaws personal offense suppresses truth and freedom. This is the danger of criminalizing thoughts and ideas, including abhorrent ones.

Comedian Dave Chappelle is currently the number-one target of the thought police. His latest and allegedly final Netflix comedy special violated the left's thought policies. He cracked jokes and made points that allegedly deeply offended the LGBTQ wing of the Alphabet Mafia, the ruling family of the New Underworld Order.

GLAAD, the gay lesbian alliance against defamation, has called for Netflix to remove "The Closer" from its streaming service. A group called the National Black Justice Coalition added its voice to GLAAD's. The NBJC is a Washington, D.C.-based black crew of LGBT soldiers.

Chappelle is a wanted man, a fugitive accused of transphobia, homophobia, toxic masculinity, anti-Semitism, and truth-telling.

GLAAD tweeted: "Dave Chappelle's brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities. Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don't support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree."

Netflix platformed a comedian who thinks the wrong thing.

What does Chappelle think?

He thinks that the Alphabet Mafia has created a world where we care more about hurting a gay person's feelings than about the murder of a black man. He thinks sexual identity and gender identity have an outsized influence over American culture. He expressed this opinion by pointing out that the rapper DaBaby did more damage to his entertainment career with his criticism of gay people than he did shooting and killing a black man inside a Walmart.

The truth is, Chappelle's thought crimes in "The Closer" are deeper than gay and trans jokes.

"The Closer" challenged the entire orthodoxy of the ruling establishment. And it issued the challenge using the ruling establishment's weapon of choice — race.

A black man from middle America declared war against the left's evisceration of masculinity in general and black, male, heterosexual masculinity in particular. Chappelle argued and quipped that Jews, feminists, and the LGBTQ movement are standing on the backs and necks of black men — preferably dead ones — to seize power.

I want to restate that, because most reviewers are intentionally mischaracterizing or mis-informationing the point of "The Closer." A black reviewer for NPR, Eric Deggans, wrote a piece saying that Chappelle is "using white privilege to excuse his own homophobia and transphobia."

The Alphabet Mafia is clearly feeding Deggans a steady diet of buttered biscuits or Deggans is a made man in the Alphabet Mafia. Those are the only plausible explanations for a black man this badly missing the point of Chappelle's message.

Chappelle cleverly and correctly argued that Jews, feminists, and the LGBTQ movement have seized power by covertly camouflaging their power-grabs as selfless fights for racial equality. Chappelle used DaBaby as a proxy for heterosexual black men. He demanded that the Alphabet Mafia remove its foot from DaBaby's neck. Chappelle was talking about his own neck, my neck, Kevin Hart's neck, and the neck of anyone else who identifies as male, black, and straight.

I'm a writer. I can recognize literature even when it's delivered verbally from a stage. Chappelle conveyed an essay, a letter from the prison cell social justice warriors have built for straight black men.

"The Closer" should be renamed "I Can't Breathe." You're choking me.

Chappelle touched several third rails. That's why Alphabet Mafia soldiers have been dispatched to kill the messenger and distort his message. Chappelle is being accused of anti-Semitism for his two "Space Jews" jokes that imply Jewish people rule the world and that they have gone from oppressed to oppressor. In the New Underworld Order, you can only crack those kinds of jokes on American white men. Chappelle cannot generalize about the executives who asked him to wear a dress and sit atop a music industry that lavishly rewards rappers for denigrating black people.

I risk being accused of anti-Semitism for daring to properly interpret Chappelle's comedy and for arguing his point of view is worthy of discussion. I'm not anti-Semitic. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, either.

I'm frustrated. I want to identify whatever secular forces are being used to castrate heterosexual Christian men, particularly black ones. The gatekeepers of popular culture, the executives at the top of Hollywood and the music industry, seem to be hostile toward me. They seem obsessed with protecting the feelings of feminists and the LGBTQ and casting me as a self-defined immoral thug with fantasies of bedding Billy Porter.

"The Closer" captures the battle between black straight men and the feminist and LGBTQ movements. The left argues feminists, LGBTQ, and black men are all allies, natural allies in the war against Donald Trump and his supporters. Reality is quite different. Dave Chappelle doesn't hate Trump or his supporters. As he admitted in his comedy special, Chappelle goes to bars in rural Ohio and drinks with Trumpers. He lives among them.

Great comedians cut through false narratives and expose the truth. Ministers and comedians are supposed to be guardians of truth. They're given permission to speak uncomfortable truths. They open the door for the rest of us to engage in difficult conversations.

"The Closer" is the most important comedic sermon ever delivered. It's equal parts Patrick Henry's "give me liberty or give me death" speech at the second Virginia convention and Malcolm X's "the ballot or the bullet" speech at Cleveland's Cory Methodist Church.

BLM-LGBTQ-CRT — the Alphabet Mafia — and its megaphone, Twitter, have jeopardized free speech in America by outlawing personal offense. The price of uttering the wrong word or thought is so high in our new safe space culture that speaking the truth is too risky for too many Americans.

In order to maintain a free and just society, we must tolerate people saying and thinking whatever they please, including things we find rude and offensive.

Dave Chappelle is a patriot and a genius.