By Cavan Burns | Reporter
Earlier this month, on Oct. 5, Netflix released a new stand-up special from Dave Chapelle, titled “The Closer.” While Chapelle announced that it was his last special for a while, it might be a good thing.
In his special, Chapelle mentioned the transgender community and his past interactions with them. Chapelle said the thing that bothers him the most is when he is accused of “punching down” on the transgender community.
Chapelle’s special led to a lot of backlash. Some of Netflix’s employees walked out, were fired or leaked information about Netflix. Chapelle responded and said Netflix has been the only company to not cancel him yet. Chapelle went on to say that he had a documentary on the way, but due to the controversy, many, if not all, of the festivals have uninvited Chapelle’s documentary.
While Chapelle has not been one to avoid controversy, he has been applauded in the past. Most recently, in 2020 during the pandemic, Chapelle delivered a very powerful message during one of his shows, discussing the death of George Floyd. The impromptu speech, titled “8:46,” is roughly 30 minutes long and has accumulated over 31 million views on YouTube.
Despite this controversy, Chapelle seems to be unphased. Recently, he performed a comedy show with fellow friend and comedian Joe Rogan. Additionally, Chapelle helped induct popular rapper Jay-Z into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, has continued to support Chapelle’s content as well. This leads to the discussion of the free speech of not only comedians but also corporations. Netflix has continued to support Chapelle, and it also supports a variety of other artists. What responsibility does Netflix hold in supporting this kind of content? Is Chapelle allowed to be making comments on communities, such as the transgender community?
There have been mixed opinions on Chapelle’s special throughout the media. One opinion said Chapelle’s special is about laughing at yourself. The author of the opinion, Angel Eduardo, said, “This to me was the lesson of ‘The Closer’ — not that being able to laugh at trans people is good but that being able to laugh at yourself is essential.” In another opinion, Libby Hill said, “What’s at work here is not cancel culture. It’s consequences.”
In my opinion, Chapelle cannot and should not be canceled. As mentioned above, Chapelle has been known for his social commentary. The way Chapelle delivers his commentary — primarily through comedy — is meant to be taken in a non-threatening way. Chapelle has never had the intent of invoking harm onto communities or individuals through his comedy. Whether you agree with Chapelle’s words or not, I think Chapelle has broken new ground within the comedy world that’s worthy of discussion.
I am glad that people have taken notice of how media can present harm to individuals and communities. However, let’s not stop here in discussing everything that we consume. Rather than cancel, let’s use this to establish a conversation, not prevent one from even occurring. At the end of the day, now you know. Chapelle is a comedian who jokes about sensitive things. Watch it, or don’t. Comment on it, or don’t. All I ask is that if you do comment on it, please watch all of it first.
