Dave Chappelle And His Transphobic And Antisemitic Comedy

Dave Chappelle performs onstage at the Hollywood Palladium on March 25, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Photo credit: Lester Cohen.

Netflix keeps supporting not-funny transphobic comedy by way of releasing a new Dave Chappelle special every so often and it’s exhausting.

Enough is enough. I’m so tired of having the same conversation every fricking time that a new special gets released. Netflix can say they are an LGBTQ ally–it’s great that they acquired Disclosure–the allyship feels performative when they keep releasing Chappelle specials KNOWING he’s a transphobic bigot.

In the newest special, which I did not watch because I don’t need these attacks on my existence, Chappelle openly defends transphobic author J.K. Rowling. He goes beyond this by saying that he is on “Team TERF.” If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it means trans-exclusionary radical transphobe. A better acronym would be FART: feminist-appropriating radical transphobe. There is nothing feminist about their being transphobic AF.

But if Chappelle’s transphobia isn’t enough, he also resorts to antisemitism with his jokes about “Space Jews.” Seriously?!? You didn’t think it was enough to attack my transgender identity so you went against my Jewish identity, too?!? Here’s a must-read thread that dives into the antisemitism:

I shouldn’t have to remind you that there’s been a serious uptick in Jew-hatred during the past year. We can’t even eat brunch and post photos on social media without getting death threats.

GLAAD and others have called out Netflix for this newest special. I almost didn’t even write this because I know it’s going to lead to more transphobic abuse online. It’s the same conversation every year and I cannot stress this enough.

I have to watch Netflix films and TV series for work. I’m glad that I don’t have to pay for an account in order to review the content because I would not be able to feel good about myself by paying for a streaming service that will use the money to support hateful comedy that isn’t funny and causes more harm. I’m sure I’m not alone on this. There are transgender writers and producers calling out Netflix for airing the newest Dave Chappelle special. Perhaps what we need are studios and such to hire transgender executives because they clearly are not hiring enough transgender writers/producers/showrunners.

There is nothing funny about transphobia or antisemitism but Netflix keeps supporting his hate by streaming his new specials. This isn’t the only time they’ve rewarded hate with money–after all, Roald Dahl was openly proud about his antisemitism and Netflix had no problem acquiring his catalog. Hollywood keeps rewarding hate and it’s exhausting.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.