The awaited special from award-winning Emmy comedian Dave Chappelle called “The Closer” is out. It debuted on October 5, and it was the fourth most-watched program on Netflix.
It’s not the first controversy the comedian has been apart of. For instance, in the past several years, Dave Chappelle is in this cycle of anti-cancel-culture comedy. Moreover, on six different specials, Chappelle has delved into a perspective that he sees as progressive. Still people want to cancel him for his harse comedy.
Communities are Triggered
The concern is Chappelle spews his thoughts while making fun of the queer and transgender community. He even rambled about the Me Too movement and doubled down on offensive jokes and ultra-conservative views that people had issues to begin with.
During the show, the comedian made comments that mocked transgender people and aligned his views of that of J.K Rowling as “Team TERF”. Which stands for a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. A term used by feminists who argue that a transwoman’s biological sex determines their gender and it is something that cannot be changed.
Dave Chappelle and His Netflix Deal
No matter the disgust people have with the show, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos stood his ground and defended Chappelle’s comments.
“We don’t permit Netflix titles that promote hate or violence. We believe The Closer doesn’t violate that policy,” he stated in an internal email on October 8th.
One employee questioned if Netflix is “making the wrong historical choice around hate speech.” In the internal email sent by Sarandos, he also responded to the employees’ comments stating he believes that they’re on the right side of history. And will continue to reflect the tensions of both freedom and safety. Not only that, but also committed to artistic expression and will please the members in the long term, but only time will tell what will happen.
Sarandos also mentioned that Chappelle is very popular among subscribers. He cited that the show scored well on Rotten Tomatoes.
