Dave Chappelle’s stand-up special, ‘The Closer’, caused huge controversy because of what was said about the trans community. Employees at Netflix, the company behind the show, staged a walkout in protest of safe working conditions for trans individuals.
CEO Ted Sarandos of the studio has reportedly backed Chappelle, according to a memo acquired by Variety.
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In a recent Instagram post, Chappelle said that Sarandos was the only person who did not cancel him and his planned George Floyd documentary and that he would not “bow to anyone’s demands” when it came to transgender conversations. Chappelle angrily asks whether he is canceled in the five-minute video, which was shot in front of an audience, claiming that his voice must be heard in the discussion.
It was reported in the media that I was invited to talk with Netflix’s transgender employees, but I declined. That isn’t correct. I would have accepted if they had invited me, even though I would have been confused about what we were speaking about. My God, I heard what you said after I said what I said. I mean, how could I not? You stated that you want to work at Netflix in a safe environment. Well, it seems that I’m the only one who can’t go to work anymore.
Irrelevant Information Related to the Community
I’d like everyone in this room to know. Even though the media portrays this as a battle between me and the community, it is not the case. I don’t hold the LGBTQ community responsible for any of this nonsense. This has nothing to do with them; it has everything to do with corporate interests and what I can and cannot say.
For the record and I want you to know this, everyone I’ve met in that community has been nothing but kind and loving. I was outside doing gigs in the summer of 2020 when the entire planet went dark. My next-door neighbor had a cornfield, and he agreed to let me put on events there. To see the shows, people flocked from all across the country, and some even traveled from all over the world.
Reasons for differences with Dave Chappelle
The greatest comedians on the planet visited my home and shared a meal with me, and we went about our daily lives and found a way to keep moving forward.”It was the subject of a full-fledged documentary. On the first night of those performances, there was a work called 8:46 that dealt with George Floyd’s death and murder, which some of you may have witnessed.
Every film festival in the United States invited my film, and I accepted some of the invites.”They started excluding me from film festivals when the dispute around The Closer became public. Nobody will touch his film now, neither a film company, a studio nor a festival.
Thank God for Ted Sarandos at Netflix, because he is the only one who hasn’t yet canceled my show. “I am more than prepared to listen to the transgender community, but you will not summon me. I’m not going to give in to anyone’s demands. If you wish to meet with me, I’d be delighted to do so, but I do have some requirements.
“First and foremost, you are not permitted to attend unless you have watched my special from beginning to end. You must arrive at a location and time that I specify. Finally, you have to admit that Hannah Gatsby is not amusing.
Will There Be Any Issue With the Upcoming Shows of Dave?
I am desperate for people to see this film. But I see why investors are concerned, and because no one is going to touch it, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to make it available to all of you in Ten American Cities in the coming days. You’ll be able to view the entire movie, and you’ll be able to see what they’re attempting to keep you from seeing.
“And you can make your judgment, but you can’t have this talk without my input. That’s only right. You must respond to the following question: ‘Am I canceled or not?’ Thank you so much for everything.”
What Has Been Going on With Dave Chappelle?
In his stand-up special The Closer, Chappelle mocked the trans community, misgendering a woman as a man, making fun of a trans woman’s genitalia, and declaring himself a “TERF,” which stands for a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. The trans and LGBT+ communities, as well as their sympathizers, were outraged.
Terra Field, a Netflix employee, wrote a long series of tweets about her views about the situation, while Jaclyn Moore, the trans showrunner of Dear White People, publicly ended her relationship with the studio.
Employees staged a walkout when CEO Sarandos implied in a memo that he supported Chappelle, which the comedian confirmed in a statement. In a subsequent interview with Variety, Sarandos admitted that he should have handled internal conversations with greater humanity.”
A number of celebrities, including Netflix employees Jonathan Van Ness and Billy Eichner, supported the worker walkout. We will be back with more, so stay connected with us.