Dave Chappelle Shrugs Off Backlash If This Is What Being Canceled Is I Love It

Dave Chappelle is laughing off recent attempts to “cancel” him.

Earlier this week, LGBTQ advocates condemned his transphobic and homophobic jokes and misconceptions in his new comedy special, “The Closer,” which premiered on Netflix Tuesday. The National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights advocacy group, even issued a statement on Wednesday urging the streaming service to pull the special.

Advertisement Dave Chappelle performing in 2018.Vivien Killilea via Getty Images

The “Chappelle Show” star reportedly responded to the controversy surrounding his Netflix special during a sold-out event at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on Thursday, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline report.

After a screening of his new film “Untitled: Dave Chappelle Documentary,” which follows the comic summer camp Chappelle put on last year in his Ohio hometown, the 48-year-old comedian took the stage and received a standing ovation, according to THR.

“If this is what being canceled is like, I love it,” the performer said, according to the entertainment outlet. The line about being canceled received “rapturous applause” from the audience, which included celebrities like Brad Pitt, Tiffany Haddish, Donnell Rawlings and others, THR reported.

“I don’t know what to tell you, except I’m a bad motherfucker,” Chappelle added, receiving laughs from the crowd of 18,000, per Deadline.

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At another point, the comedian reportedly criticized social media users and the press for asking him to comment on the backlash.

“Fuck Twitter. Fuck NBC News, ABC News, all these stupid-ass networks. I’m not talking to them. I’m talking to you. This is real life,” Chappelle said, according to THR.

Yet the real-life consequences of Chappelle’s jokes in his latest comedy special are precisely what concern many LGBTQ advocates and trans women.

Chappelle defended offensive comments made by “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling during his special.

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“Effectually she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as shit, they started calling her a TERF,” Chappelle said, referring to the acronym for “trans-exclusionary radical feminists,” whose views about gender are seen as anti-trans.

“I’m team TERF,” he added.

“Gender is a fact. Every human being in this room, every human being on Earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on Earth. That is a fact,” Chappelle said before comparing trans womens’ bodies to plant-based burger products.

Yet, Chappelle’s joke conflates gender and sex. Gender is “your own, internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman (or as someone outside of that gender binary),” according to GLAAD, while sex typically refers to a person’s biological characteristics.

Aside from the National Black Justice Coalition, GLAAD also issued a statement saying the comedian’s “brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities.”

Jaclyn Moore, executive producer of Netflix’s “Dear White People,” also announced on Twitter that she would no longer work for the streaming service. (Though, after speaking out, she is now experiencing a backlash of her own.)

Other trans advocates, trans women and Netflix employees also spoke out against Chappelle’s jokes on social media.

In case you missed it: “joking” about trans people while trans people are being murdered for existing and their human rights are being systematically attacked by hateful bigots is not funny. https://t.co/wPaC37PU7v

â€" Crystal Marie Fleming (@alwaystheself) October 7, 2021

A lot of the "pleasure" of punching-down comedy comes purely from seeing your prejudices confirmed.

It's like a nice warm bath, hearing that you were right about "those people" all along. For a moment, you don't have to feel bad for all those shitty thoughts.

â€" Charlie Jane Anders (EVEN GREATER MISTAKES 11/16!) (@charliejane) October 7, 2021

The fact that people don’t think Dave Chapelle is transphobic makes me scared to go out at night.

â€" Stacy Cay 🏳️‍⚧️ (@stacycay) October 6, 2021

So Dave Chapelle just...gets to spread transphobic hate and lies in a marquee Netflix special, huh?

I can't imagine it not being a huge fucking deal if he said equivalent things about any other marginalized group, including gay men.

I think cis people should think about this.

â€" Cassie The Friendly Ghost (@CassieCeleste) October 6, 2021

I work at @netflix. Yesterday we launched another Chappelle special where he attacks the trans community, and the very validity of transness - all while trying to pit us against other marginalized groups. You're going to hear a lot of talk about "offense".

We are not offended 🧵

â€" 🎃 Terra Fied ðŸ'» (@RainofTerra) October 7, 2021

What we object to is the harm that content like this does to the trans community (especially trans people of color) and VERY specifically Black trans women. People who look like me aren't being killed. I'm a white woman, I get to worry about Starbucks writing "Tara" on my drink.

â€" 🎃 Terra Fied ðŸ'» (@RainofTerra) October 7, 2021

“I will not be canceled!” declares multimillionaire as he promoted his fifth Netflix special

â€" Openly Black Studs Twerkel. (@thewayoftheid) October 7, 2021

My big take on the whole Dave Chappelle thing is just… you okay, man?

This is the fourth stand-up special of his since 2017 that has a lengthy bit about trans people in it. I don’t get it. It’s such a bizarre fixation.

â€" Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) October 7, 2021

Hey @netflix. Currently working with you... and lemme be super clear:

YOU HAVE TO STOP platforming anti-trans voices. You aren't hosting an argument between two different ideologies. You aren't sparking debate.

Because trans existence isn't an argument or up for debate.

â€" Beth Schacter (@bethshax) October 7, 2021

But according to Deadline, Chappelle said during his Thursday screening at the Hollywood Bowl that he has no interest in fighting with his critics.

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