Dave Chappelle has released a new Netflix special, The Dreamer, which is full of jokes about the trans community and disabled people.
“I love punching down!” he tells the audience, in a one-hour show that landed on the streaming service today (31 December).
It’s his seventh special for Netflix and comes two years after his last one, the highly controversial release The Closer.
That programme was criticised for its relentless jokes about the trans community, and Chappelle revisits the topic in his new show.
He tells jokes about trans women in prison, and about trans people “pretending” to be somebody they are not.
It’s amazing how many snowflake comedians start crying about being cancelled and then go on to have numerous netflix specials about it. Almost like they were never actually cancelled in the first place but they learnt that if they said they were enough times, the terminally dim people who enjoy their material will pay money to see their bully fantasies played out on stage by an old rich guy.
‘cancelled’ is now simply “people were mean to me on shitter”. Their right to express vile horseshit is obviously intact.
Same as it ever was. They always roll out these new words to convey their shock and disgust at the fact that they have to deal with the consequences of their actions.
Every Edgy Millionaire Comedian – roughly the same joke but the Columbus thing makes the edge of my mouth slightly curve upward every time
As seen in these very comments 😂
“Oh sure we can’t joke on trans people but you get to swing at Dave Chappelle!?”
Love this bit and will upvote it every time.
This is a good point. These jokes aren’t just bad, they’re boring. Why not just tell jokes about airline food?
In one of Dave’s early Netflix specials he talks about Bill Cosby and how complicated his crimes were for a black standup who was both inspired and influenced by Cosby as regardless of how shitty he is as a person is a giant of that medium. I sort of feel that way about Dave now, his show and early standup sets were so fundamental to how my sense of humor formed that I can’t completely divorce myself from them, but who he’s become is shameful and i can’t ride with him anymore.
Like fuck him for being so shitty and bigoted in general, but an extra fuck him for letting down the people he inspired and influenced. He’s become the very thing he should have destroyed
Yeah, I’m right there with you. He came up in a conversation over the holidays and I had to go through how in my opinion he had potential to be one of, if not the best, comic of his generation and he squandered it by needlessly punching down and taking oddly vindictive stances. Maybe this is always who he was, but I think the fame and frustration that came with how his career played out changed him.
I can’t reconcile the Dave from old interviews and shows with this one, and it’s kinda sad.
Unlimited money lets people be who they truly want to be.
Chappelle may have moderated his views early on because he was still trying to “make it,” or he may have gotten worse over time, or both. But what reassures me that he’s actually just not a good person now is the fact that he can afford to be anyone he wants, and this is who he chose.
He didn’t need to moderate his views. The 90s were anti-gay, let alone trans. He just didn’t have material about it because it wouldn’t have generated controversy. People would have agreed and moved on, or disagreed but the media wouldn’t have cared or maybe would have put them on for extra laughs.
It’s hard to believe how different things were back then, looking at it from how things are now. Trans jokes would have been considered offensive, but because they referenced transexuals, not because they made fun of them.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s and trying to explain how different it was culturaly is challenging.
IMO best thing to do is put videos of pro wrestling(a thing I still really enjoy from time to time) from between 95-00 and tell whoever that at one point this was the hottest fucking thing in the world. The promos, antics, announcers, and fan signs will tell the rest of the story
Yes, agreed, all very good points.
You summed up my thoughts well… fuck him
I am so sick of his comedy of grievance. Every act he does over the past few years is about how unfair the world is to him and how people don’t acknowledge how great he is.
He’s riding out the glory of an okay sketch show that he made two seasons and then torpedoed 20 years ago.
Yeah, I’m reminded of Jerry Seinfeld. Some comedians are great for life, most have a time and a place and excel then and there. I’m the 90s Seinfeld was bigger than big, in the 10s he was telling college campuses they’re too pc for not laughing at jokes about trans people. In the 00s Chappelle left on a high note and was a popular icon of comedy who quit too soon. In the 20s he was a raging bigot who should’ve stayed quit. Meanwhile Larry David is still making tv and fairly popular, but that’s because he mostly sticks to punching himself in the face.
Chappelle has said that Key and Peele were just doing “his show.” But look at how Jordan Peele has reinvented himself as one of the iconic horror film directors of our generation (and maybe all time?). He wouldn’t be out of place in a list alongside Alfred Hitchcock, Eli Roth, M. Night Shyamalan, Clive Barker, or George A. Romero.
Also, like so? People wanted more and you quit so others said they could do something similar. And as you said, Peele is doing stuff nobody dared do before in a different genre now.
I think at the root of his problem Chappelle seems to think that he’s the greatest and people just refuse to see it. He seems to lack the humility that is needed for a comedian to stay relatable
Yep, dude is just hurt that no one considers him the comedy king anymore. Not that he deserves it, but HE certainly thinks he does. It’s sad, really… I remember respecting him for stepping down for a bit. What a disappointing return, I wish he had just faded away with positive memories instead of torpedoing himself, his legacy, and the fight for equal rights.
Gonna take friendly umbrage with you putting Shyamalan on that list but not mentioning John Carpenter or Wes Craven :)
Fair!
I take umbrage with Eli Roth being on that list at all…
I give him slight props for 1 decent movie but yeah I know what you mean.
Meanwhile Chappelle made some edgelords all defensive. Samesies!
Jordan Peele has reinvented himself as one of the iconic horror film directors of our generation (and maybe all time?)
I mean I’m happy that Peele has found success, but this is not accurate in any way.
He has one okay movie, and none of his movies can really be considered horror.
Meanwhile Larry David is still making tv and fairly popular, but that’s because he mostly sticks to punching himself in the face.
I’ve got a love-hate thing with his writing. David is a master of unconventional suicide by words. He’s very funny but so good at causing intentional cringe that I suspect that his humor could be weaponized in the event of another world war.
Full agree. I think Jason Alexander did an amazing job of playing him in a way that didn’t hurt as bad to watch as when David plays himself. I tried curb your enthusiasm and it was funny but I just couldn’t watch more than one episode the cringe was so intense.
Seinfeld is a groomer
I remember in “The Closer” he said "now Key & Peele are on Comedy Central, doing my show."
Like dude, you did not invent the sketch comedy show. SNL had been going on for decades before he even thought of doing his own spin on it. I used to like his comedy, but not so much after that special, and definitely not after this.
I grew up with (and loved) the Chappelle Show but Key & Peele is sooo much better. I rewatched some of his show a few years ago and most of the skits don’t hold up well at all. It’s mostly just black stereotype caricatures that are only “not racist” because a black guy wrote them
The fucked part is one of the reasons he stopped doing Chapelle Show was (according to him sometimes) because he recognized a good chunk of his audience was laughing at the black stereotype shit instead of with him about how ridiculous it was. And now he’s cashing in on punching down at other groups and cares not a bit about it.
Yeah. I like some edgy humor but the show was an invitation for racists to be more public with their opinions…which they did
Yeah, seems Dave’s always had a problem with misreading the room. Still does, just is bitter about it now
And misogyny. I can’t remember a woman on that show that wasn’t eye candy or the butt of a joke.
It was a joke you absolute donkey.
Jokes are meant to be funny and that is just whinging on his part, you bloody walnut.
Did the live audience laugh?
Big-name comedy show audiences are moronic fanboys who will laugh at anything.
Dude is a multi millionaire in his 50s who does nothing but bitch about how other rich people “stole” his money. Sooooo relatable Dave, wow!
I mean, yeah, he’s a piece of shit, and yeah he’s still riding on that old fame, but come on. That was a great sketch show, not merely an ok one. The fact that he has turned into Clayton Bigsby should not distract from the fact that the first episode of his show featured a faux documentary about a black white supremacist. That was some amazing television. I’m all for bashing Dave for the many, many shitty things he’s said and done in the past few years, but let’s not rewrite history here.
It’s far from the worst, but great? I guess there’s no accounting for taste. I’d prefer Mr Show, Monty Python, In Living Color, Key & Peele, Portlandia… does Robot Chicken count?
I said it in his last special, a comedian doesn’t punch down. Apparently he heard this criticism from others and decided to double down. He’s truly become a piece of shit of a guy and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s jumped on the Maga train.
“Punching down” also indicates that he thinks he’s somehow on a different level from them. So, it should mean, for example, that he’s making fun of comedians who are less successful than him. Or maybe it means he’s making fun of people who have less money than him.
But, there’s likely a trans person out there who has more money than him, so what does he actually mean? He’s the one quoted in this special as saying “I love punching down!” Those are his words that he chose. Is he saying that he’s inherently better than a trans person or a disabled person?
It used to be popular for white people to think they were inherently better than black people. Talk about a lack of perspective.
Harshly criticizing a powerful group or system (punching up) is considered fair social critique. Harshly criticizing a group or system that is already vulnerable (punching down) is just bullying. It’s not about feeling superior in this context, it’s just about someone with a huge platform using it to put down people who already have a harder life than they need to.
No, it’s about people with too much time on their hands and no ambition to fight any real cause being able to pretend like they’re doing something that matters.
So… MAGA then? Sounds like maga.
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Pretty sure the whole punching down thing comes from a story he told in one of these netflix specials where a trans woman in a bar told him she likes his comedy but that he needs to stop punching down against her people. He got all indignant about it and tried explaining that it’s not punching down because he’s black. His logic being that black people are so far down the totem pole it’s impossible for any one of them to “punch down” against a different marginalized group.
Him using the phrase now comes across more to me as him reveling in the position that he’s, in his mind, been mischaracterized into by the trans community. And less so him actually believing he’s better than anyone.
Still not at all a good look. And he’s definitely an asshole. The fact that he’s still fixated on this one perceived slight that happened to him several years ago should tell you all you need to know about him. My dude has produced multiple Netflix comedy specials focused on getting back at a community he feels wronged by because a woman said something to him once in a bar that he didn’t like.
It also ignores the existence of black trans people.
I interpret it as just being a less oppressed class laughing at a more oppressed class. But it does raise a good point.
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Here’s well known social media karma harvester… George Carlin explaining the concept in… 1990
https://www.reddit.com/r/IsTheMicStillOn/comments/nx3gcz/george_carlin_speaks_on_punching_down_120/
“talk about lack of perspective”
Just a heads up, punching down is a term used in the comedy world. It’s more like, telling a dumb joke that’s easy. It’s an easy win that most people will laugh at, rather than creating humor using actual skill.
Just a heads up, ‘punching down’ means ‘To attack or criticize someone in a less powerful position’. That’s the definition. It’s not limited to the comedy world.
No it’s not limited to it, but Chappelle is deeply part of the comedy world. That’s where he would be using the term from.
and yet in comedy it still refers to attacking people in a less powerful position. It has nothing to do with jokes being easy or dumb.
I misread somehow, you’re absolutely right.
Maybe the other person is thinking of low hanging fruit.
How can someone be so confident and yet so wrong? 😂
OR, ya’ll are missing the joke entirely, in that he doesn’t think he’s ‘punching down’… nore is he making fun of who you think he is.
In fact, the joke is at the expense of people like those in this thread who are getting bent out of shape taking words out of context. It was tailor made to upset YOU, specifically. YOU, and your unnecessary outrage, are the butt of the joke. He’s mocking those who go overboard with the virtue signaling, and you all here are taking the bait hook, line & sinker.
There is a problem right now with self elected ‘thought police’ trying to remove all discourse, and that is VERY unhealthy for a liberal society. Totalitarianism is not healthy, no matter what your motivation is. Sacred cows are ALWAYS something to be targeted by comedy & satire, and the left wing totalitarianist word/thought police are very much a valid target, every bit as much as the MAGA idiots. For society as a whole, they are equally as dangerous, the end goal is the same but with different underlying motivations.
That being said, the special was lackluster. It felt like he was contractually obligated to give Netflix another special by the end of 2023 but didn’t have enough material yet & even what he had wasn’t very polished.
You’ve set off my 1984 alarm: Never use the term, “thought police” in reference to private individuals making decisions about others actions. If you actually read 1984 (it’s a short book and easy to find online, go read it) the Thought Police were part of the government. As in, policing people’s thoughts was a function of the government (in order to maintain the status quo, avoiding change aka extreme conservativism).
Here, you’re referring to a collection of people that have decided–on their own–to boycott a comedian because they don’t like where he stands on certain topics. That’s not Thought Police! Call them snowflakes or “too sensitive” or “hysterical” or some other bullshit (don’t care, really) but please for the love of Orwell stop using that term to refer to non-governmental entities or the actions of people that aren’t part of any authority.
When the government starts cracking down on people’s speech then by all means refer to this action as, “Thought Police”.
Don’t believe they aren’t aware that they’re hypocritical.
I have heard the 1982 argument numerous times from people that support banning books.
These strategies have been used for ages
Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.
~Jean-Paul Sartre
This represents a common issue in the discourse. Conservatives tend to use a group of people to try and score points against leftists, liberals people NOT a part of the minority while using the minority as nothing more than a weapon. It doesn’t matter how much we get banged up. In this case it’s cis people using the existence and expressed needs of trans people to try and discredit other cis people while misrepresenting the needs and causes of trans people. We are not bullets to be fired at our own defenders.
You think no trans people are made to feel alienated by this? That in the shockwave following another bombing run we don’t get to hear variations of this rhetoric in our workplaces and get to feel like we need to chose between our mental health and the precarity of keeping food on the table? That people won’t feel empowered to come at us with new fodder to make us to routinely have to defend ourselves against whatever transphobic nonsense is getting panned as a “dig against the libs”? We fight for rights to actually live in our bodies with a mental load out that is hard for cis people to comprehend at a basic level and that gets represented as high humor by someone who very obviously hasn’t got a clue during a time when we are under political fire and human rights campaigns have labelled the USA actively hostile to trans people. It’s beyond poor taste, it’s preaching to the ignorance and intolerance of people directly.
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it’s totalitarianism vs freedom to have intelligent discourse
bigotry isn’t “intelligent discourse”, and calling out bigots for their bigotry isn’t “totalitarianism."
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I’d think that trans people would feel more alienated by being treated with like they, unlike other people, are too fragile to handle being the butt of a joke.
There is definitely trans friendly humour that can see us be the willing butt of the joke… But representing us as “just pretending” or appealing to the squeamishness of cis people about our potential medical choices or making open commentary on our genetalia or coping strategies isn’t exactly humour we can laugh along with when we face that shit from people regularly and have to either pretend it doesn’t bother us or ask people to drop it just to move on with our day.
For you it’s a novelty, for us it’s fucking routine annoyance. People want to confront us to have these conversations about how we’re weird or wrong or liars with us over and over again and repeat like mindless parrots idiotic shit people believe about us that is patently false and then have the gall to wonder why we dislike them for it.
Chappelle wants to make believe he’s saying the taboo things that people are forcibly restrained from saying to our faces… But we hear this shit from family members and friends we have to let go of and coworkers and random idiots who corner us in public. But when we ask people to please for the love of god just STOP they get offended and wheel out the “you can’t tell me what to do!” and the "you’re so fragile! "
We aren’t fragile, we’re just tired of your stale bullshit.
When I tell someone to shut the fuck up I’m merely expressing my own right to free speech, I’m not taking away someone else’s right to speak! How is that “thought police”? They are still free to ignore me, they just have to deal with the fact that I disprove.
And that’s what babies like this are really mad about. Baby can’t stand the thought that people don’t like him!
I’m also free to not watch his special, not give him money, and tell other people to do the same. And baby doesn’t like that!
Man, don’t waste your time and energy.
Most of these commenters just want to be angry.
I agree with your comment 100%.
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Wow, it usually takes some knowledge about a subject to come to a conclusion like that.
But you came to that conclusion without any knowledge at all.
Just like most of these comments about Dave Chappelle’s latest standup.
Pretty on brand of you to form an ignorant and severely judgemental conclusion based on little to no information at all.
You sound like an American Republican.
And here you are baiting, strawman after strawman
This whole thread is mostly about beating a Chappell-shaped straw man.
I’ll take comments that show the individual has no idea what they are talking about, for $500, Alex.
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You can’t even make a real argument, and just use sarcasm and personal attacks.
Be angry at me all you want.
But next time you see such an obviously baiting headline, like this “article”… ask yourself if it’s a real article or just clickbait that wants to trick you into scrolling through 40 ads to read something that doesn’t expand on the headline AT ALL.
And then wonder if there is a lot of “news” floating out there meant to make you angry just so you drive traffic to the source.
If you question this kind of nonsense even once, moving forward, then these last 10 minutes was well worth the effort.
I said it in his last special, a comedian doesn’t punch down. Apparently he heard this criticism from others and decided to double down. He’s truly become a piece of shit of a guy and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s jumped on the Maga train.
it’s essential to consider the broader context of oppression when discussing the dynamics of ‘punching up’ or ‘punching down’ in comedy. historically, black people have faced systemic oppression, which continues to impact their lives in various ways. this systemic oppression isn’t just about individual experiences of racism but also about the overarching power structures that disproportionately affect black communities.
when a black comedian addresses topics related to race, they are often speaking from a place of personal and collective experience with these systemic issues. their humor might be a way to cope with or highlight the absurdities and injustices of these systems. therefore, even when their jokes might seem to target groups traditionally seen as more powerful, it’s not the same as ‘punching down.’ ‘punching down’ implies attacking those who are less powerful or oppressed, and given the historical and ongoing context of racial oppression, a black comedian making jokes about race or related societal structures isn’t an act of punching down but rather a form of social commentary or critique.
That doesn’t work against groups that are even further behind in their quest for civil rights. Trans people are still fighting to use bathrooms or participate in sports the Black people fought for 60-70 years ago.
the comparison between the struggles of black individuals and transgender individuals is valid, yet it’s important to understand each community’s unique challenges. while both groups share a common goal of equality and fair treatment, they face distinct battles rooted in different forms of discrimination.
black people have historically dealt with segregation, police brutality, voter suppression, housing disparities, and many other racially motivated issues. they’ve made significant progress in terms of civil rights over the past few decades, thanks to the efforts of activists, organizations, and legislation. however, there’s no denying that these issues persist, requiring continued work towards eradication.
transgender individuals, on the other hand, primarily struggle with gender identity and expression. they fight against misconceptions, prejudice, and bias, which often manifests as restricted access to facilities, employment, healthcare, etc. trans people also experience higher rates of violence compared to the general population, which illustrates the severity of their plight.
while both groups have experienced similar periods where the right to basic services was denied based on an inherent characteristic, their journeys are not identical. this isn’t about pitting one group against another; rather, acknowledging that the battle for equal rights is ongoing for everyone regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other aspect of human diversity.
What does this have to do with anything? He’s punching down, he’s not used to there being an unrelated group at the same level as a group he belongs too. The only comparison is the general level that he’s not punching up. That’s it.
The whole notion of you can’t punch down never made sense to me. A group of people that you can’t criticize or make fun of is not a group below you.
What do you mean “can’t”? There’s no law or anything, you can insult whoever you want just like Dave.
Then what’s all the outrage about?
As usual, the algorithmic media machine is trying to drum up anger and emotion because that gets clicks and ad views. There were definitely a few transphobic jokes that I was not okay with, but to say he the special is “filled” with them is a bit much.
Also the quote “I love punching down” was clearly not sincere the way he delivered it. I didn’t like the special, but the outrage over it is overblown especially considering that putting it in the news will only get more people watching it.
Dave Chappelle is the Clarence Thomas of comedy.
Anybody who’s followed Chris Rock since the 90s will be familiar. It starts out as an “edgy” black comedian with an overwhelmingly white audience. It ends with your core audience using you as a black voice, that one black friend, who justifies regressive politics. I don’t know if Dave is in on the joke, laughing all the way to the bank. Either way, he’s playing the clown.
I thought the whole reason he abandoned his successful show was in part a refusal to shuck and jive. Kinda disappointing that he’s putting on a minstrel show now.
This is an absolutely brutal takedown of Dave Chappelle
Wow.
He’s not putting on a minstrel show, he’s just voicing out his biases. The Chapelle Show had a subversive and punk edge to it because it made of fun of regressive attitudes about race, what’s happening right now just kind of proves that Chapelle himself was never subversive.
The Chapelle Show had a subversive and punk edge to it because it made of fun of regressive attitudes about race, what’s happening right now just kind of proves that Chapelle himself was never subversive.
I agree with this assessment, but I also have to wonder, based on the percentage of white people who have shown me the “black kkk member” bit, and found it maybe a little too funny, what percentage of his audience was actually in on the joke. It doesn’t really matter whether or not he’s actually putting on a minstrel show, what matters is whether or not people perceive it as one. Partially, impossible to insure against, but still, something to be conscious of.
I’m not sure why people are surprised.
He’s always held these opinions, he just hid them among other opinions that weren’t as noticeable because he spread the hate around, and mostof the jokes were funny.
This is the same guy that got on his show, and had a segment where a white girl sang his words for him. If you can find the clip without using a service he profits from (I can’t right now, it’s only available in little “shorts” on YouTube), the whole thing is just him saying shit he doesn’t like, that would get his ass “cancelled” if he said them. And the longest segment is about gay sex being gross. Trans issues weren’t as visible back then, but the guy has always said this type of thing.
But for some reason, he’s stopped doing it to everyone, which is what made it acceptable. He didn’t spare any group, but he also didn’t target any single group more often than others, except perhaps black people. And it’s always acceptable to joke about your own group.
Now, he’s just being a douche. The jokes aren’t at all funny unless you find it funny to just bash people with no attempt at humor. It has gone far past the kind of abrasive, but exaggerated hate he used to use, but it isn’t something new.
But for some reason, he’s stopped doing it to everyone
That’s what always happens. It turns out when you’re an asshole to “everyone”, eventually you’re just an asshole to minorities.
Reminder that Reid Hastings the Netflix founder is a prolific anti union and anti public school pact funder. He is a piece of shit outside of giving chappelle a platform
He also literally said “Netflix is not in the business of speaking truth to power” when he censored The Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj for Saudi Arabia.
What’s a “public school pact”? I went to public school and no one ever informed me of any pact!
Fuck! When I saved that orphan from the nobles and someone chanted, “remember the pact” was that what they were talking about‽
I must’ve been sick that day.
They most likely mean PAC (political action committee), which is just another name for a lobbyist group.
Oh, you must’ve taken study hall as an elective instead of that Commune With the Old Ones class. I heard it was mislabeled as “Gym Class” so it’s understandable.
He’s running out of content
I’m not sure how many of you watched this based on the comments here
But his jokes really were not transphobic in this special at all
Watch the thing with context and see
But as it was happening… I was very disappointed. Because I wanted to meet Jim Carrey, and I had to pretend this n*gga was Andy Kaufman… all afternoon. It was clearly Jim Carrey. I could look at him and I could see he was Jim Carrey.
Anyway, I say all that to say… that’s how trans people make me feel.
That’s extremely transphobic and not even an attempt at being funny.
Edit:
“Give me your fruit cocktail, bitch, before I knock your motherf*cking teeth out. I’m a girl, just like you, bitch. Come here and suck this girl’s dick I got. Don’t make me explain myself. I’m a girl”
Also very transphobic, and there’s more.
Here’s the complete transcript of his new program.
https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/comedy/dave-chappelle-the-dreamer-transcript/
Could you give some context? I’m definitely not going to watch it based on just a “take my word for it” argument. He’s been known to toe the line and get rude when people call him out on it. At this point I have to assume he is being transphobic simply because that’s been a problem for him in the past.
I gave him some context above and he’s full of shit. The new program is very transphobic and not just mildly.
Here’s the complete transcript of the show
https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/comedy/dave-chappelle-the-dreamer-transcript/
It’s awful and not even remotely funny, just offensive. I think he lost his marbles and drank too much conservative koolaid.
You’re wild he’s hardly conservative
Did you watch it or just read it?
Could you give some context? I’m definitely not going to watch it based on just a “take my word for it” argument
Are you actually asking someone else to provide you with a reason to watch the thing you’re pretending to have an opinion about?
He basically says, as most comedians have, that you should be able to make fun of everyone.
He says (paraphrasing here) Im not making fun of trans people, they have a lot of representation, I’ll punch down on handicapped people instead
It’s not about handicapped or trans people, it’s about the fact that no matter what you joke about, someone will be offended, and you can’t live your life not offending everyone
Also, most of the special was about his dreams as a child, and how other people are dreamers too
He also goes on to give Lil Nas X a lot of props in the special, which if he hated lgbtq people, he probably wouldn’t.
The bits about trans people, which were few and far between, were mostly about how people.took and misconstrued his jokes about trans people in previous specials.
I’ve seen all of them, not once do I think he was specifically targeting and being dismissive of trans people
You can make fun of people without discriminating against them. Dave has pretty consistently made fun of everyone.
He makes fun of himself and his wife for being black and Chinese in this. I don’t see everyone screaming that he’s racist against black or Chinese people
OK. You’re entitled to your biases and unfounded opinions as much as the next person. Doesn’t mean we need to respect them.
Today in bizzaroworld, asking for context demonstrates bias and unfounded opinion.
fuck off and read the book/watch the show, then decide.
Did you miss the part about how he’s not going to watch it himself but already has an opinion based on his own assumptions?
Did you miss the part where you told him asking for context meant he was biased? And they’re only assumptions if this was the first time this comedian had ever done a netflix special making trans people the butt of his jokes. Once someone has form for it, and we know he’s done it again, they’re no longer assumptions, they’re a reasonable inference.
Sounds to me like there’s no context to be had and you’re just getting called out for lying. 🤷
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Last time he came out with a special, I watched it blind, not knowing anything about it. The dude “joked” for 30 minutes about trans people. I cracked a smile once or twice toward the beginning. After a couple of minutes, it no longer felt like he was trying to joke. It was just an old man venting anger. These were not even trying to be jokes.
So why would I give him another chance? Dude sucks now. I’m sure you can tell some jokes about trans people and be funny. But he wasn’t trying. And he has a token trans “friend” he uses to justify it all. What a fucking hack. No, I won’t give him another chance. He lost me.
Thank you
Context is everything. It’s a very well written special especially if you consider the last two.
He’s a comedian. If you don’t like it, don’t listen. It’s not hate speech, just comedy. These headlines are trash
Nah, we need to provide rage bait for overly sensitive people
Personally, even if it’s not transphobic, it’s pretty lame to make that your topic for the entire special.
It really wasn’t at all That’s why I don’t get this article or the reactions from people in the comments about this article.
That wasn’t the main topic for the entire thing it was a fairly small part
Because everybody loves to act offended.
Because rage sells ads. Period. And most people are sheep who need to belong to a flock.
It’s not the topic for the entire special. You’d know that if you watched it.
“I love punching down!”
When someone tells you who they are, believe them.
I’m shocked that Dave Chappelle not only went down this route but has doubled down, especially since he walked from his own show nineteen years ago due in part to the negative racial stereotypes being pushed by the show’s execs and the lack of creative control Comedy Central gave him.
And I’m more shocked that Netflix thought it was wise to release another special filled with transphobic drivel, especially since the last one generated so much negative press for them.
If you actually watch it he’s not transphobic in it at all
Idk what this article is talking about
The pasted quotations in another thread seem to suggest otherwise.
You’re shocked that he did a thing that was incredibly successful and then doubles down on that success? Your being shocked feeds into that success.
do you have stats on these netflix shows? Are they at all successful?
This is of his previous Netflix special: https://tvline.com/ratings/tv-ratings-dave-chappelle-the-closer-nielsen-top-10-streaming-1234739959/
Also, I don’t think Netflix would buy another show with almost identical premise if it didn’t piss money.
He walked because he had a mental breakdown…
In his own words a white crew guy laughed at a comedy skit they were filming. Lots of white people watched his show and laughed at the skits
Dave got famous real quick. He played a likable character in Half Baked and next thing you know he was a household name with a giant TV show.
No one really knew anything about what kind of person he was, good chance he was always shitty.
his jokes were always heavily “black people be like this, white people be like that” so he was always a bit overrated. It just sucks he learned so little from his experiences.
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He’s a bought-and-paid-for sellout. Always was. He just never had anyone show him where the money was.
I watched both his and Gervais’ latest last night out of morbid curiosity. Both were profoundly unfunny. To be fair, Chappelle was marginally funnier than Gervais, whose act seemed like a barely-disguised checklist of right-wing talking points spouted off by a narcissistic man-baby who constantly laughs at his own “jokes” (and seemed like he had a laugh track or just poor audio editing) Chappelle, at least, elicited a few chuckles when he was willing to make himself or th, insanely wealthy (pretty lackluster running bit about the submarine implosion) the butt of the joke. His constant making “joking” about trans, gay, and bisexual people was just not funny.
I think that the root cause of their shifts is that they were always in life for themselves, looking up at the rich and powerful thinking “I want that”. So, when they were getting established, the underdog thing was useful. But, they never saw themselves as underdogs but the temporarily-embarrassed millionaires. Once the got their piece, they’re right there next to the boomers with the “fuck you, I got mine” attitude to court the favor of those that will reduce their need to give back to the society that they benefitted from. I’m pretty sure neither of them are actually discriminatory in their private lives (they both basically say as much); either they just absolutely lack scruples and are happy to play a shithead to make money and powerful friends or, their pride and ego doesn’t allow them to publicly acknowledge fault and not understanding that context and nuance matter (odd to think as they are professional wordsmiths).
I agree to some extent although both of their bits have long been about shock humor and I think they both think this kind of thing is just an extension of that. That doesn’t make it funny tho. Shock humor is stale at this point.
It’s not that it’s stale, it’s that they aren’t in the same spirit as his older specials.
I haven’t seen this one, the last I saw was was his first 2 specials. The jokes fell flat because it didn’t feel like they were trying to spread awareness of social issues the same way the older specials did about the police beating negros like hotcakes.
Same with Chris Rock and Luis C.K. Sooooooo not funny. It’s like they got infected by some unfunny virus when they did “Talking funny” with Seinfeld. Or it’s just really hard to stay funny as you get older. Carlin was amazing all his life but who else? Maybe comedians are like boxers? They don’t have an old timers day…
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Narcissists
I used to believe this, because I truly believe that we should be able to joke about everything and anything.
But when you have photo ops with right-wing nutters, run exclusively in circles with conspiracy nuts, and placate the likes of Elon Musk at your shows, it shows that even the great Dave Chappelle isn’t beyond being sucked into the anti-woke brigade.
When your act starts to focus almost solely on certain subjects, you become typecast, and that’s what’s happening to Chappelle and Gervais. When you’re putting out more material on trans people than what you were initially known for covering, something has changed in you. Most comedians that strike a nerve or hit gold on a specific topic don’t make their entire identity about it, like Jim Jeffries and the infamous gun routine. They reference the impact, and move on. IMO, Chappelle and co should have moved on maybe one or two specials ago…
We should be able to home about everything and anything. But the more politically incorrect your humor is, the funnier (and more true) it needs to be. His new material just isn’t funny.
You can joke about everything and anything. Dave Chapelle wasn’t arrested and put in jail. The conflation of what’s legal and what’s in the etiquette of society is troubling. You can have shitty views and be entitled not to be arrested for having them. You can have shitty views and not be entitled for anyone to pay you or listen to you say them. I have the same right to complain to Netflix about promoting this asshole as he does being that asshole.
What is the difference between ‘pushing buttons and boundaries’ and trolling? I don’t think i can tell. It all seems designed to generate emotional responses and controversy.
I would say pushing boundaries (and maybe to a lesser extent just pushing buttons) is categorically different than trolling.
Trollings sole purpose is the reaction, to rile people up. You dont have any intention behind your words besides that. Or heck maybe you even lie to do it. “What if I post pictures of sad looking polar bears to Greta Thunbergs twitter account? Wouldnt that make her mad!? hahaha!” Thats a troll - Nothing is gained, nothing is learned, nothing is advanced.
Pushing boundaries is something different. You can have intent, social movement, and a message with it. Star Trek pushed boundaries when they had an interracial kiss, it wasnt just for shock value or trolling white people. Ellen coming out on TV pushed boundaries without trolling people.
Boundaries are generally placed by people for the purpose of holding certain groups back, and they deserved to be pushed and in fact broken. Trolling does none of that. Trolling is putting a flaming bag of shit on someones porch and ding-dong-ditching just to watch them get their shoe dirty. If they are old, fall over, and break their hip when they do it thats all the more fun to the troll.
Pushing buttons… more on the trolling end of things, but probably done in a more playful way, maybe even to someone you know and hope to have a positive relationship with afterwards. But really its a more mild form of trolling
Nothing. ‘Pushing buttons’ is a mother way to say trolling.
Ya know, even with the typo, it’s accurate. 🤪
lol, oops. I’m going to leave it, because you’re right!
He’s a sellout. Nothing more. And it’s painfully obvious. He was barely relevant before this bullshit- now look at him.
He might be a sellout but to say he was “barely” relevant before he made trans jokes is just false. Before the trans jokes he was considered the GOAT stand up comedian and it was pretty much uncontested. If you aren’t a comedy fan then I get why you wouldn’t have heard much about him before the jokes but that’s just your little bubble, bud.
ROFL! Comedy isn’t a competition. You’re either funny or you aren’t. And if you’re only funny because you are controversial, then you’re not funny- you’re just popular.
He WAS funny. Then he became relevant. Now he’s just controversial.
Chappelle was never controversial before this though. He was just recognized by his peers as the FUNNIEST. SMH
He was recognized by his peers as FUNNY. Because comedians are funny. Again, it’s not a competition. Grow the fuck up.
Lmao I like how you changed the argument. All I’m trying to express is that he was VERY relevant before the trans shit. You have a lot of unprocessed anger huh?
No, he wasn’t:
https://www.ranker.com/list/best-male-stand-up-comedians-of-the-2000s/ranker-comedy
He didn’t even make the list on a site that’s widely known for making lists.
Even if we consider comedy to be a competition/ he still lost.
Do you wanna give me a source on that uncontested claim because that sounds like it was pulled out of your ass.
If it were truly about comedy, wouldn’t he at least try to be a bit funny while doing it?
Why is it all or nothing? I am not sure how that was established. What experiments were conducted to show that result?
Rage bait
