Netflix defends American comedian Dave Chappelle after jokes deemed transphobic

Netflix defended Monday its choice to broadcast a show by American comedian Dave Chappelle in which he made comments deemed transphobic by some, according to American media.

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The streaming giant also suspended three of its employees who had invited to an internal virtual meeting to protest against this broadcast, according to the same sources.

This is not the first time that the 48-year-old comic, winner of several Emmy and Grammy Awards and known for his skits on racism, has been criticized for comments considered homophobic or transphobic.

This time he is at the center of a controversy following jokes about the genre in his show "The Closer", released last week in the United States.

“Gender is a fact.

Every human in this room, every human being on Earth had to go through a woman's legs to be on Earth.

It is a fact, ”

he says in particular.

In passing, he defends British author JK Rowling, accused by some last year of making insulting remarks against transgender people on Twitter.

These statements were not to the liking of LGBTQ advocacy groups, such as the National Black Justice Coalition, which asked Netflix to deprogram this show.

But in a memo to employees, Ted Sarandos, the group's co-executive director, said Dave Chappelle's work did not amount to "hate" and that the company would not withdraw the program, according to Variety, who was able to consult the document.

“Some talent could join with third parties in asking us to delete the show in the coming days, which we will not do

,

the memo said, adding that Dave Chappelle is one of the most popular artists around. .

"We don't allow (on) Netflix programs designed to incite hatred or violence, and we don't believe The Closer crosses that line."

"I recognize, however, that it is difficult to distinguish between the comment and the insult, especially with the stand-up that exists to push the limits"

, we read again.

According to Variety, three employees who had invited themselves to a virtual executive meeting to protest the show have been suspended.

According to the media outlet, this list includes engineer Terra Field, who identifies as transgender and claimed on Twitter last week that Dave Chappelle was attacking

.

They were punished for attending a meeting they were not invited to, and not for criticizing the program,

argues

.