Kevin Hart defends Dave Chappelle and says cancel culture has gone too far
Comedian Kevin Hart came to the defense of Dave Chappelle and decried cancel culture while admitting that he has changed his approach to comedy in order to be respectful of others.
Hart made the comments in an interview with the New York Times.
“That man don’t have a hateful bone in his body. And I don’t say that because it’s hypothetical — I say that because I know him," said Hart of Chappelle, who has been accused of transphobic comments.
"I know his world," Hart continued. "I know that he embraces the LGBT+ community, because he has friends who are close to him from that community. I know that his kids understand equality, fair treatment, love. I know that his wife embeds that in their kids. I know why people embrace him. He’s a good dude."
Hart was also the victim of cancel culture in 2018 when resurfaced tweets sunk his hopes of hosting the Oscar awards ceremony. He later apologized for the jokes and Chappelle used his story to criticize cancel culture in one of his comedy specials.
Hart went on in the Times interview to opine that cancel culture had gone too far in society.
"If there is a joke, there’s an attempt to be funny. You can find a joke tasteful or distasteful. If you’re a supporter of a performer, then you’re probably OK with whatever’s happening. And if you’re not a fan, you’re infuriated and you’re outraged. Rightfully so — you have every right to be," he said.
"You also have a right to not support it," Hart concluded. "But the energy that’s put into wanting to change or end someone, it’s getting out of hand.”
The newest protest against Chappelle originated from some students at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where the comedian went to high school. Students are protesting the school's plans to name a theater after Chappelle after he has donated and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his alma mater.
Chappelle has responded to the controversy by challenging his critics to raise more money for the school than his supporters. He said that if they are successful he'll refuse to put his name on the theater.
Hart is on a campaign to publicize his new dramatic limited series on Netflix entitled, "True Story," starring himself and Wesley Snipes.
Here's Hart's comments on the Chappelle controversy:
Kevin Hart talks new drama series ‘True Story’; says ‘I stand with Dave’ amidst controversywww.youtube.com
Bill Maher stands up for Dave Chappelle to Chris Cuomo's face, blasts trend of kids choosing their gender: 'This is not crazy stuff that makes you a bigot'
Bill Maher — host of HBO's "Real Time" — defended comedian Dave Chappelle in an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo, who noted to Maher that Chappelle has a "long history of going after trans people," particularly in his controversial Netflix stand-up special "The Closer."
And Maher, during his wide-ranging Wednesday chat with Cuomo, also pushed back against the radical leftist notion that children can choose their own gender.
What are the details?
Cuomo added to Maher that Chapelle's "homophobia is not as much of a push against him as what he says about trans people" and that the comedian now complains he's being "canceled" in the wake of "The Closer."
Maher replied that he's on "Team Dave" and is for "free speech."
After Cuomo asked, "Why?" Maher replied, "Well, you say 'going after.' You use terms like 'homophobia.' I was speaking recently about 'phobia.' There's a word that's traveled quite a bit from its original meaning. A lot of mission creep on that word 'phobia.' It's become ... a word [people use] to say, 'I don't like something.' Phobia means an irrational fear … [Chappelle is] not afraid of homosexuals ... [he's] not transphobic."
Maher continued: "This trans stuff is very new. I don't think he or myself or any other ... right-thinking person thinks there aren't such things in the world as people who are trans, who are born in a body that doesn't align with what their brain is telling them. That's OK. But now we're talking about children."
With that he noted that a woman acquaintance in her 40s recently told him she was a "tomboy" growing up — which presumably was in the 1980s and 1990s — and that had she come of age today "they would've made me into a boy here in California."
'This is not crazy stuff that makes you a bigot'
"So don't put it into this category of 'this is settled science — anything that deviates from the one true opinion on this means you're some horrible bigot and transphobic.' That's not what's going on here," Maher added. "And I don't think Dave Chappelle is transphobic. I mean, a lot of that special is talking about his opening act — who's trans! OK? It's like, 'Can we take a breath? Maybe we are going too far with the children part of this.' You know, kids should not be really making decisions about their gender. I mean, Mario Lopez was almost canceled for suggesting that maybe 3-year-olds shouldn't decide their gender. This is not crazy stuff that makes you a bigot."
While acknowledging that voicing such opinions "obviously has to be protected" — including when they come from Chappelle — Cuomo still pushed back against the comedian's "choice to make jokes about [transgender people]."
Cuomo added that criticism against Chappelle was along the lines of "you're punching down at this group. This is a discrete minority. They've got a lot of problems of being targeted and hurt. 'You are a powerful voice. And you making fun of them empowers the people who want to hurt them, whether you know that or not. Now that we've told you that, stop doing it.' Is that a bad suggestion?"
Maher admitted that while Chappelle is "a little obsessed with this one issue," it's likely he believes that "as a black man in America .... nobody in America except the Indians have had it anywhere near like the black folks have had it in America. So I can see why [criticism of him] would get under the skin."
Bill Maher's Take On Dave Chappelle Controversy, Toxic Democrats, GOP "SLOW-MOVING COUP" and More.youtu.be
Duke Ellington school rejects 'cancel culture' with students trying to block fundraising event with Dave Chappelle
Students at the Duke Ellington School of Arts called for a fundraiser featuring Dave Chappelle to be cancelled over his recent Netflix special, but the school refused to give in to "cancel culture."
Politico cited two students who said their peers got angry when they were told to help set up an exhibition for the fundraising event with Chappelle. The event was to raise money to help pay for a new theater (which will be named after the comedian) at the school.
The students reportedly got into a heated debate with the faculty because they wanted to show support for their LGBTQ compatriots by refusing to honor Chappelle. They also considered a walkout.
Chappelle has been a longtime supporter of the school since graduating there in 1991. He credits the school with saving his life.
The school initially cancelled the fundraiser, but later released a statement in response to the students' furor, saying that it would be postponed until April.
We recognize that not everyone will accept or welcome a particular artist's point of view, product or craft, but reject the notion that a "cancel culture" is a healthy or constructive means to teach our students how society should balance creative freedom with protecting the rights and dignity of all its members.
The school will continue with its plans to name the new theater after Chappelle.
LGBTQ activists and their allies have decried Chappelle's Netflix comedy special "The Closer" over comments he made that some have criticized as being transphobic.
"For the record, and I need you to know this," Chappelle said later about the controversy, "everyone I know from that community has been loving and supporting, so I don't know what all this nonsense is about."
A video from a 2019 event where Dave Chappelle addressed the students at Duke Ellington showed overwhelming support from the students who attended.
"Protect your heart, young people, protect your heart, don't ever become a cynic!" he told the students who responded with wild applause.
Here's Chappelle at the school in 2019:
Dave Chappelle's message to Duke Ellington School for the Arts studentswww.youtube.com
Transgender activist who led protest against Dave Chappelle has a troubling history of racist tweets
A transgender activist received a lot of press in the media for leading the protest against Netflix over Dave Chappelle's controversial special, but she has her own history of problematic tweets.
The tweets mocking and insulting Hispanics, Asians, and others were documented at the Post Millennial.
Ashlee Marie Preston does not work at Netflix but she helped organize a walkout by employees in opposition to comments Chappelle made on "The Closer," his latest stand-up comedy special.
Preston, who is a black transgender person, fired off numerous tweets assailing Asians and Hispanics, according to the report.
"Asian hoes act like they wont get karate chopped in they muthaf**n throat. What is this hoe staring at? Mind ya beeswax #B**ch," read one tweet.
"Latino and Asian businesses need 2 stop bein ride & f*kn disrespectful, & I kno its A LOT to ask in CA but speak f*kn English 2* #yahisaidit,' read another tweet.
"Just cussed that Asian b***h clean the f**k out...u mess up my order & THEN blame me?? #englishismyfirstlanguage b***h. Never ordern again," tweeted Preston.
Preston addressed the resurfaced tweets in a statement Monday to her social media account.
"It'll take more than tweets from nearly a decade ago, that y'all already weaponized against me 2 years ago, to stop me from doing the work that'll free us ALL, today," tweeted Preston. "This is so old and I've already taken accountability for it. There's no scandal here."
The activist had previously been criticized for the racist and misogynistic tweets after she was highlighted as a surrogate for the failed 2020 presidential campaign of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Preston said at the time that the "racially insensitive and homophobic" tweets were a result of her addiction to methamphetamine, and apologized.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has defended the company's decision to keep Chappelle's special on its platform by saying that content doesn't lead to real world harm, a central claim to much of the outrage by transgender activists.
Here's the Reuters video report of Preston's protest:
Netflix protest about 'accountability' not 'cancel culture'www.youtube.com
Netflix fires organizer of trans employee walkout over leak of confidential data related to Dave Chappelle's special
Netflix has fired an employee for allegedly leaking confidential data pertaining to Dave Chappelle's latest stand-up comedy special. The employee was also the organizer of an upcoming employee walkout to protest Chappelle's comedy special because of accusations of "homophobia" and "transphobia."
Netflix, which is notorious for keeping viewership data close to the vest, fired an employee for reportedly leaking metrics on Chappelle's latest comedy special to the media. The "commercially sensitive information" was purportedly shared with someone outside of Netflix, and was included in a recent Bloomberg article.
The Hollywood Reporter highlighted the internal information that Netflix would not want to be made public:
In the piece, Bloomberg reported that Netflix spent $24.1 million on 'The Closer' and $23.6 million on Chappelle's 2019 special, 'Sticks & Stones.' Those numbers were in comparison to the $3.9 million the streamer spent on Bo Burnham's 'Inside' and the $21.4 million Netflix spent on the hit show 'Squid Game.' According to the internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg, Chappelle's 'Sticks & Stones' special was measured as having an 'impact value' of $19.4 million, which meant that the special cost more than the value Netflix determined it generated.
Netflix released a statement on the termination of the unnamed employee said to have leaked confidential data related to Chappelle's special.
"We have let go an employee for sharing confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company," a Netflix spokesperson said Friday. "We understand this employee may have been motivated by disappointment and hurt with Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust and transparency is core to our company."
The fired employee is also a "leader of the trans employee resource group who was organizing the upcoming October 20th walkout," according to The Verge.
Hundreds of employees are expected to participate in the walkout to protest the streaming giant for continuing to air "The Closer" and comments made by Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos, who defended Chappelle.
The report from The Verge highlights that the fired Netflix employee is "black and currently pregnant," but does not reveal her identity "for fear of online harassment."
"All these white people are going around talking to the press and speaking publicly on Twitter and the only person who gets fired is the Black person who was quiet the entire time," the former employee allegedly told the outlet. "That's absurd, and just further shows that Black trans people are the ones being targeted in this conversation."
Meanwhile, Netflix suspended three employees this week for crashing the company's quarterly business review. The three employees, including one who identifies as trans and spoke out against Chappelle's special, have since been reinstated.
Whitlock: 'Straight black men are coming out of the closet as REAL men'
In this clip, "Fearless" host Jason Whitlock expressed hope for the future of men in America.
According to Jason, men are coming out of the closet constructed by the matriarchy to tame, house, and emasculate black men over the last six decades.
Jason cited specific events that occurred throughout history that he believes taught black men to be subservient to black women.
"Black men were the first casualties who were forced to apologize for their maleness," Jason explained.
Jason noted his newly found hope in the future for men as athletes and comedians are taking a stand against politically correct culture. A culture that, according to Jason, has held men down for decades.
Watch the clip for more details. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.
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