Since October 5 and the release of his show
The Closer
by Dave Chappelle, a controversy has raged in the United States. This concerns the last of the six shows of the American comedian posted on Netflix since 2016, in which he makes remarks deemed shocking and going against the LGBTQ + community. He says that
“gender is a fact”
and that his detractors are
“too sensitive”
, retorting: “
In our country we can kill a black man with bullets, but be careful not to hurt the feelings of a gay. This is precisely the disparity that I wish to discuss.
"
The American comedian published, Monday, October 25, a video on his Instagram account in which he reconsiders his words. This 5 minute video has been viewed over 700,000 times. Rumors had claimed that Dave Chappelle had refused to meet employee advocates of Netflix's LGBTQ + community. He denied: “
This is not true. If they had invited me I would have accepted, although I'm confused as to what we would discuss. I said what I said, and damn it, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not hear it? You said you wanted a safe working environment at Netflix. Looks like I'm the only one who can't go to the office,
”he says in his video.
Read alsoNetflix defends Dave Chappelle after jokes deemed transphobic
He invited this community to meet him, but on several conditions: “
I do not bow to anyone's demands. And if you want to meet me, I am more than willing to do so, but I have some conditions. First of all, you can't come if you haven't watched my show from start to finish. You have to come to the place of my choice, at the time of my choice, and third, you have to admit that Hannah Gadsby is no fun.
The latter is one of the renowned comedians to have joined forces with organizations such as the media monitoring agency,
GLAAD
and the
National Black Justice Coalition
to denounce the comedian's comments.
Read also Netflix in the face of the discontent of its employees after a show deemed transphobic
African Americans Against LGBTQ +
An African-American comic, Dave Chappelle has been accused in the past of making fun of transgender people but remains extremely popular in the United States. In
The Closer
, he highlights his experience as a black man. He believes that white gay men "
are part of a minority until they need to be white again
." The comedian jokes about the health crisis, the vaccine, HIV, the #MeToo movement and then the LGBTQ + community. While at the start of her show the stand-up star said: "
I would like to address the LGBTQ + community so that each of its members knows that I am coming in peace tonight
". In the end, it is quite the opposite which then occurs.Much of
The Closer
targets gays, lesbians and especially transgender people.
The comedian says he is jealous of the LGBTQ + community and compares transphobia to the racism of which African Americans are victims.
“
I'm not the only black person to feel this way.
(...) I can't help but think that if the slaves had had oil on the body and minishorts we would have been free a hundred years earlier.
If Martin Luther King would have said, 'You all get on these chariots.'
"
Read alsoFollowing a joke deemed transphobic, comedian Dave Chappelle creates controversy
The tone was set and the criticisms that followed were sharp. The
GLAAD
and many LGBTQ + associations responded quickly on social networks. The
National Black Justice Coalition
, meanwhile, released a statement arguing that "
perpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence
" and calling on Netflix to end the show. On Wednesday, October 22, a demonstration was held bringing together LGBTQ + activists and Netflix employees to protest in front of the platform's headquarters in Los Angeles. Jaclyn Moore, producer of the series
Dear White People
and herself transgender, has claimed she will no longer work with the platform
"As long as it continues to disseminate and enjoy content so openly and dangerously transphobic"
.
So far Ted Sarandos, Co-Executive Director of Netflix, has said he doesn't want to remove the show from the platform: “
The challenge is to entertain the world, and you have audiences of varying tastes, sensibilities and beliefs. .
You really can not please everyone, otherwise the content would be rather dull,
”he justified in an interview with
The Hollywood Reporter
.
Ironically, at the same time began the promotion of his documentary
Untitled: Dave Chappelle Documentary
.
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