Dave Chappelle comedy special spurs backlash for including transphobic commentary

Dave Chappelle’s comedy special “The Closer” sparked massive outrage among viewers and critics, who cited specific comments in it as both transphobic and homophobic. Netflix was also criticized and accused of profiting off hate speech for its refusal to take down the episode.  

Key Players

Dave Chappelle is an American comedian and actor. He was the host of “Chappelle’s Show,” a sketch comedy series that aired on Comedy Central from 2003 to 2006 and focused on themes like race and fame. In the past, Chappelle has been accused of hate speech and insensitive comments toward the LGBTQ community. 

Netflix is one of the world’s leading streaming services, with approximately 213.6 million global subscribers. 

Further Details

On Oct. 5, 2021, Dave Chappelle’s comedy special, “The Closer,” was released on Netflix. At the time and over the next two weeks, the episode became the fourth-most-watched program on the streaming service. 

In the 72-minute program, Chappelle made numerous jokes mocking the LGBTQ community, at one point suggesting that identifying as transgender was the gender equivalent of using blackface. He also declared himself a trans-exclusionary radical feminist, also known as “TERF.” 

The episode was met with outrage from many, including numerous transgender Netflix employees who publicly condemned the company for releasing it. The next day, Terra Field, a trans employee at Netflix, spoke out, stating in a tweet, “What we object to is the harm that content like this does to the trans community.” 

Field was one of three employees suspended by Netflix for attempting to participate in an executive meeting they were not invited to, according to The Verge. Originally, Netflix had been accused of firing Field for the series of tweets, but Netflix told The Verge the accusation was “absolutely untrue.” The suspended employees were reinstated by Oct. 12. 

On Oct. 6, 2021, GLAAD, an organization that monitors the media for biased commentary about the LGBTQ community, declared in a tweet that “Dave Chappelle’s brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities.” On Oct. 11, GLAAD tweeted further that “Netflix has a policy that content ‘designed to incite hate or violence’ is not allowed on the platform, but we all know that anti-LGBTQ content does exactly that.”

While Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos admitted to mishandling the concerns of his employees, he maintained that the special qualified as “artistic freedom,” according to The Guardian. Responding to accusations that Chappelle’s commentary could potentially incite violence, Sarandos said, “While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.” 

According to The Verge, in an open Q&A document at Netflix, an unnamed employee wrote, “We repeatedly provide a platform for content that is harmful to the trans community. ​​These decisions have a material impact on our business, including harm to our current employees and talent declining to work with us. What is our plan on how we are going to repair this situation in particular?” The Verge also reported that none of the employee statements in the open Q&A asked Netflix to remove the special. 

On Oct. 12, the trans employees resource group (ERG) at Netflix planned a company walkout for Oct. 20 to protest Sarandos’s statements. As reported by The Verge, a leader of the trans ERG wrote in an internal organization meeting that, “Netflix has continually failed to show deep care in our mission to Entertain the World by repeatedly releasing content that harms the Trans community and continually failing to create content that represents and uplifts Trans content. We can and must do better!” 

Outcome 

Netflix employee dismissed after speaking out

On Oct. 15, 2021, Netflix fired one of the employees who was organizing the Oct. 20 walkout. According to The Washington Post, the employee had leaked “commercially sensitive information,” which appeared in a Bloomberg article, including that $24.1 million had been spent on Chappelle’s special. Netflix told The Post that the employee admitted to downloading and sharing this data, adding, “We understand this employee may have been motivated by disappointment and hurt with Netflix, but maintaining a culture of trust and transparency is core to our company.”

Transgender rights activists stage a walkout

More than a hundred trans employees and allies of the transgender community participated in a rally outside Netflix’s Los Angeles offices on Oct. 20, 2021. Many other Netflix employees, who were working remotely, reportedly took part in a virtual walkout by closing their laptops. Calling themselves “team trans,” those who walked out gave speeches and presented a list of demands of the company, such as hiring more transgender people and including disclaimers for content that is criticized for being transphobic, according to The New York Times.  

On Oct. 25, 2021, Chappelle posted a five-minute video to Instagram, bemoaning that reaction to the special had negatively affected an untitled documentary he had prepared. “This [documentary] film that I made was invited to every film festival in the United States … and when this controversy came out about ‘The Closer,’ they began disinviting me,” Chappelle said. “And now, today, not a film company, not a movie studio, not a film festival, nobody will touch this film.”  

Chappelle went on to praise Sarandos for not “canceling” him and said, “To the transgender community, I am more than willing to give you an audience, but you will not summon me. I am not bending to anyone’s demands.”

Chappelle’s high school alma mater delays fundraiser after student protest

On Nov. 12, 2021, a fundraiser hosted by Chappelle’s high school alma mater, Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., was postponed from Nov. 23 to April 2022. The event’s goal was to raise money for a new theater that would be named after Chappelle, who has donated to the school in the past. The announcement occurred after students, asked to create an exhibition honoring Chappelle, expressed frustration and discomfort with his recent comments, threatening to stage their own walkout.

In a statement, the Ellington School said, “We recognize that not everyone will accept or welcome a particular artist’s point of view, product or craft, but reject the notion that a ‘cancel culture’ is a healthy or constructive means to teach our students how society should balance creative freedom with protecting the rights and dignity of all its members.”

The school said it plans to move forward with the fund appeal, but has also hosted sessions to listen to students and discuss the controversy surrounding Chappelle.

Netflix memo advises recruiters not to comment on The Closer

On Jan. 4, 2022, a leaked memo obtained by The Verge tells members of Netflix’s talent acquisition team to avoid discussing The Closer with potential job candidates. “Find a way to respectfully end and move on from the topic if you’re pressed further on the topic in areas not covered in the talking points,” the memo reads. 

Among many talking points, Netflix instructs recruiters to state: “We value our trans colleagues and allies, and understand the deep hurt that’s been caused. We respect the decision of any employee who chose to walk out, and recognize we have much more work to do both within Netflix and in our content.” 

The memo also provided guidance on employee termination, the October walkout, and the company’s efforts to increase trans representation in the entertainment industry.