Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix special, “The Closer” has caused an uproar on Social Media and the press.
He defended he used the acronym TERF which means trans-exclusionary radical feminist, and in this special, Chappelle defended Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, who has been accused of being transphobic.
He said: “Gender is a fact. Every human being in this room, every human being on Earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on Earth. This is a fact.”
In The Closer, Chappelle told a long joke about a fight he had with a lesbian, referring to her as a man throughout the set-piece.
He ended his special with a “but I had a trans friend” story. He says we don’t listen. But he’s not listening. Those words have real world consequences. Consequences that every trans woman I know has dealt with. Bruises and panicked phone calls to friends.
At a screening of the new show, speaking of attempts to have his special canceled, he said: “If this is what being is about, I love it.”
Chappelle’s special was aimed at setting the record straight after being widely criticized for his previous specials in which he belittles trans people, gay people, and survivors of sexual violence.
He says this is his intention right at the start. His routine—controversial as it is—accomplished exactly what he set out to do.
Chappelle won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and was honored by, amongst others, by Jon Stewart, Morgan Freeman, Chris Tucker, and Eddie Murphy.
Despite this display by progressives, and allowing for free speech by comedians, Chapelle has stepped over the boundaries of humor and hurt.
The NABWMT supports efforts to uplift and protect the trans community and people at the margins.