Dave Chappelle’s most recent stand up special “The Closer” was heavily reported on for its controversial remarks. Soundbites were taken from it and played on cable news. Many YouTube videos were made of creators reacting to it. With all the talk around it, no one seemed to bother to ask, was the special actually any good?
Honestly, it was pretty OK. There were some very funny moments in it and even things that were reminiscent of the Chappelle who made Clayton Bigsby, the black white supremacist. Hilarious jokes that also offered thought-provoking commentary on difficult issues such as race.
“I have never had a problem with transgender people. If you listen to what I’m saying, clearly my problem is with white people,” joked Chappelle.
But mostly, it just came off as bitter. Chappelle spent an odd amount of time in this special discussing trans women, the politics surrounding them and other members of the LGBTQ+ community. As some would say, it was kind of suspicious.
One of the more egregious offences was his support of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.
“Effectively, she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad and they started calling her a TERF,” said Chappelle.
Although the special used many low-brow, less-funny jokes towards LGBTQ+ people – at one point insisting that rapper DaBaby can kill a black man but not insult LGBTQ+ people – the real problem with Chappelle’s special was his divorce of the struggle for civil rights for racial minorities and the struggle for civil rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Being gay, bi, transgender or non-binary does not excuse a person from being racist. It is an assumption that people on both aisles and in and out of the community make, but it is wrong.
Being a victim of racism does not excuse a person from being homophobic or transphobic either. Although Chappelle repeatedly said he had no ill intentions towards trans people in his special, his comments afterwards left a sour taste in the mouth of many people. His special has parts that are funny but these golden moments go unsavoured when coupled with some of the more low-brow jokes included. When addressing a crowd, a couple days after the Netflix strike, Chappelle doubled down.
“I want everyone in this audience to know that even though the media frames this that it’s me versus that community, that is not what it is, do not blame the LGBTQ+ community for any of this. This has nothing to do with them. This is about corporate interest and what I can say and what I cannot say,” said Chappelle.
This, in fact, is not about corporate interest or what Chappelle can and cannot say. It is not about policing comedy either. It is about having reasonability and taking into mind that the trans community is a very vulnerable and marginalized community that only recently has been able to achieve legislative equality in many states. Equity is not an end-all-be-all game for all groups involved. Chappelle needs to acknowledge this to redeem his formerly impressive comedic career from this large stain on it.
