Since the release of his latest Netflix special The Closer, comedian Dave Chapelle has been facing criticism for the transphobic remarks made In his stand-up. “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,” Chapelle said in the set. “That is a fact.” Additionally, he sided with J.K. Rowling’s TERF ideology and said that he was “team TERF.” TERF stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist and is an ideology that excludes trans women as women. These weren’t the only statements that he came under fire for, as he also shared jokes about the #MeToo movement and the LGBT community as a whole.
These dangerous remarks were met with pushback from many Netflix employees, and CEO Ted Sarandos sent out a company-wide email claiming “that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm,” an easily disproven statement. “Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse — or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy — without it causing them to harm others,” Sarandos continued. “We are working hard to ensure marginalized communities aren’t defined by a single story. So we have Sex Education, Orange Is the New Black, Control Z, Hannah Gadsby, and Dave Chappelle all on Netflix.”
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Gadsby, who is a lesbian, has two Netflix specials, Nanette and Douglas. Despite her partnership with the streaming service, the comedian took to Instagram to speak out against Sarandos’ response and the fact that he unwillingly dragged her into the discussion surrounding it. Gadsby posted a Notes App statement on her grid with the caption “Yes I watched the whole thing. Leave me alone.”
“Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess,” Gadsby wrote. “Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial world view.”
“You didn’t pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted. F— you and your amoral algorithm cult … I do s—- with more back bone than you,” Gadsby concluded. “That’s just a joke! I definitely didn’t cross a line because you just told the world there isn’t one.”
