What Is Happening To Dave Chappelle?

Dave Chappelle’s reputation as a comedic genius is being stained by an ugly controversy; ever since he began doubling down on criticizing the transgender community via his Netflix specials, his name has become associated with the culture war, often cited as an artist who is being “canceled” for daring to speak his mind.

Chappelle’s Netflix special The Closer proved bitterly divisive, sparking staff walkouts and internet backlash, but was defended by the institutions of the entertainment industry; Netflix confidently stood by Chappelle, while The Closer later received an Emmy nomination.

Chappelle’s controversial comedy isn’t cheap – reportedly, Netflix spent an eye-watering $24.1 million on the The Closer; by comparison, the series Squid Game, a record-breaking behemoth for the streaming giant, cost a cool $21.4 million.

Chappelle’s latest gig, an appearance at Minnesota metropolis’ First Avenue, was canceled after staff rebelled against the comedian, standing in solidarity with the transgender community. In response, Chappelle’s team moved his gig, which was fully sold-out, to the nearby Varsity Theater. Chappelle, it seems, isn’t so much being “canceled” as “inconvenienced.”

Chappelle has chosen to stand by his work; he has described The Closer, rather generously, as a “masterpiece.” Through his speeches and comedy specials, Chappelle has repeatedly framed the public backlash against his comedy as a dangerous form of censorship. Chappelle even went so far as to name a group of students who criticized his jokes as “instruments of oppression.”

During The Closer, Chappelle aligned himself with “team TERF,” (an acronym which stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist) and spent the majority of his time on stage talking about the LGBT community, and criticizing trans women, a marginalized minority who simply want to be left alone.

Ironically, Chappelle himself has advocated for moral boundaries in comedy; during an interview with David Letterman, Chappelle talked about his decision to quit Chappelle’s Show, describing a line being crossed during a blackface sketch in which Chappelle felt like he had become the punchline. Chappelle stated:

“There’s instances where you do go too far. You’re playing with powerful shit, doing jokes about racism, and this -ism and that -ism. To me, I looked at it as an occupational hazard, but I also realized that I was bigger than I was comfortable with … It’s not a bad sketch. But hearing the wrong laugh while you’re dressed that way, it makes you feel shame.”

Comedy has always wrestled with moral quandaries – a lot of great punchlines are pretty mean-spirited! But there’s a clear difference between attacking the powerful and the marginalized. Legendary comedian George Carlin, who was famously opposed to political correctness, understood the difference; in a 1990 interview with Larry King, Carlin discussed Andrew Dice Clay’s sexist and homophobic jokes, stating:

“I would defend to the death his right to do everything he does. But the thing that I find unusual, and it’s, you know, not a criticism so much, but his targets are underdogs. And comedy traditionally has picked on people in power, people who abuse their power. Women and gays and immigrants are kind of, to my way of thinking, underdogs.”