Dave Chappelle’s new Netflix special criticised for defamatory comments against the LGBTQ+ community

Netflix has courted controversy yet again, this time for Dave Chappelle’s new stand up special, The Closer. The comedian was subject to widespread criticism from LGBTQIA+ organisations and activists for transphobic and homophobic comments he made on the special.

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Chapelle’s hour-long special included several quips targeting the community. From accusing them of ‘punching down’ on his people to ridiculing trans women, many of the jokes that made up the special followed a pattern of criticism against LGBTQ+ people. The former comment was made in reference to previous incidents where African-American artists such as DaBaby had been called out for their homophobic statements.

The comedian had also made the controversial statement “In our country, you can shoot and kill a n*****, but you better not hurt a gay person’s feelings,”.

Chapelle also made references to the backlash he had received earlier for his anti-trans rhetoric in his previous special Equanimity and Sticks and Stones.

He also jokingly offered support to Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who was also accused of transphobia for comments the author made calling himself ‘Team TERF’ (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist).

American organisation GLAAD(Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), an NGO which monitors defamatory content against the queer community in media, took to Twitter to express their disapproval, along with several other human rights organisations as well.

Trans writer and producer Jaclyn Moore, who had worked on the series Dear White People at Netflix also criticised the platform for allowing the ‘dangerous’ content to air.

Netflix has not commented on the issue yet.