Meet the new Dave Chappelle – misogynist, anti-trans and socially irresponsible

In 2005, one of America’s greatest comics left the set in the middle of the stage and did not return. It was Dave Chappelle, and after two successful seasons of his show on Comedy Central, he had just signed what he thought was the biggest contract of his life – a $ 50 million contract to keep doing it. After stepping away from the show – and that huge paycheck – Chappelle could only joke later The David Letterman Show. “Technically, I never stopped,” he said. “I’m seven years late for work. “

Chappelle had become known for his satire on running in America – he did short eclectic skits (which would later serve as a model for comedians like Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) featuring 1970s black men traveling in time to beat slave masters, racist police, and Chappelle in “whiteface”. Meanwhile, her observation stand-up often poked fun at celebrities and the inner workings of the industry – asking, for example, why in times of national crisis, American TV stations were getting celebrities like Ja Rule on the phone. . It was edgy comedy that aimed to make social commentary and very popular. But in the blink of an eye, it was all over. After missing the public spotlight for a year (and many rumors he had had a nervous breakdown), Chappelle explained to Oprah, “I was doing funny, but socially irresponsible skits.”

So why, in 2021, is comics now targeting queer and trans people? Chappelle’s slow and difficult comeback began in 2016 – when, against all odds, he surpassed his 2005 Comedy Central offering with a Netflix deal of at least $ 60 million. The promise was that he would get at least three $ 20 million promotions – a number of which have already seen the public react, due to jokes about the #MeToo movement and the trans community. A new special, titled The closest, dropped on the streaming platform on Tuesday, and it looks like Chappelle has doubled down.

In the 10th minute of the show, Chappelle meditates – at length – on his reproaches towards gays and women, detailing a physical fight he had with a lesbian (which he continually despises, calling her “” man ”throughout his account). He tells us another an argument he had with a woman who recognized him in public and jokes about how he wanted to kill her and throw her in the trunk of his car. He explains that, until recently, he didn’t know what the classic definition of a feminist was. He uses an insult against lesbians. He jokes about rape. And finally, he ironically wonders why people feel like he hates women.

Then come his specific attacks on trans women. Chappelle oscillates between denouncing the North Carolina toilet bill – which until recently required trans people to use toilets corresponding to the gender on their birth certificates – and being called “transphobic comedian, Dave Chappelle “. He makes dehumanizing jokes about the genitals. He misrepresents the late actress Daphne Dorman as he discusses her suicide. He tells an anecdote of an argument with yet another woman (is Chappelle’s whole offstage life just coming across people he has vilified?) who has been rightly hurt by some of his transphobic jokes. But for Chappelle, trans wrestling and black wrestling are at odds, and he fires her using that logic. Her attack, which lasts the entire second half of Chappelle’s set, culminates in the announcement: “I am the Terf team” (which means “radical feminist trans-exclusionist”).

Even if The closestBigotry has made the headlines (and a number of Netflix affiliates have spoken out and quit in protest), it seems like we all should have seen it coming. Chappelle opened its 2017 special The era of spin with what appears to be its current guiding principle, saying, “Sometimes the funniest thing to say is mean.” In the rest of this special, he downplays the trauma of women sexually assaulted by fellow comedian Louis CK and jokes about survivors of R Kelly’s abuse. These jokes were obviously not funny, but “mean” was not necessarily the right word either. They were – as Chappelle had feared before – socially irresponsible.

In 2005, there was a very specific incident that made Chappelle realize that his comedy could be harmful. In a sketch he considered ironic, he was dressed in a blackface and dancing, when he heard the loud echo of a white man’s laugh echoing off the set. For Chappelle, this was proof that his satire wasn’t working: Whatever his intention, some people felt he was giving them the green light to mock an oppressed minority. More than 15 years later, The closest confirms that Chappelle is no closer to fixing his original problem. After all, he continues to make the crowd laugh meanly – the difference is that the laughs are now at the expense of another marginalized group.

Ever since that punch started (although little publicity people have been opposing Chappelle’s transphobia since 2010), you must be wondering how there is a market for his material right now. He is a comedian who made a name for himself by doing satire that made fun of racists. So in 2021, as he talks about minorities, who are the people who continue to occupy the seats on his shows? After some The closestvileest jokes, I spot a few people in the middle of the crowd who are clearly having a horrible evening – as everyone laughs, their faces are frozen in protest. I don’t know which Dave Chappelle they came to see, but it looks like he’s long gone.