Of course comedy is subjective, but I loved it. Chappelle absolutely does not give a rat's ass about backlash for his words. Comedy should be without limits. I think even us maniacs in CPDC who watch it will mostly give it a thumbs up.
Netflix chief Ted Sarandos defends controversial Dave Chappelle special in staff memo: Reports
Jenna Ryu
USA TODAY
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is defending his decision to keep comedian Dave Chappelle's controversial special "The Closer" on the streaming service.
In a Friday staff memo obtained by Variety and The Verge, Sarandos pledged Netflix's commitment to the special, despite backlash about the comedian's transphobic comments. "Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him," Sarandos wrote in Chappelle's defense.
He continued: "As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom – even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, like 'Cuties,' '365 Days,' '13 Reasons Why,' or 'My Unorthodox Life.' "
Chappelle drew criticism for his comments in the special about the transgender community, including his defense of author J. K. Rowling, who previously conflated sex with gender and defended ideas suggesting that changing one's biological sex was a threat to her own gender identity.
"They canceled J.K. Rowling – my God," Chappelle said. "Effectually she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as (expletive), they started calling her a TERF… I'm Team TERF. I agree. I agree, man. Gender is a fact."
TERF is an acronym that stands for "trans exclusionary radical feminists" and describes feminists who are transphobic.
In the memo, Sarandos used Chappelle's previous special "Sticks & Stones" as an example, writing that it was also "controversial" and "our most watched, stickiest, and most award winning stand-up special to date."
USA TODAY has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos defended comedian Dave Chappelle's controversial comedy special, "The Closer." Sarandos also said Netflix doesn't believe that "The Closer" promotes hate speech.
"Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don’t allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe 'The Closer' crosses that line," he said.
"I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries. Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean-spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering."
"The Closer," the sixth installment in the comedian's Netflix deal, which the "Chappelle's Show" comedian describes as "his last special for a minute," includes tongue-in-cheek jokes about race, the coronavirus pandemic and negotiating "the release of DaBaby" after the rapper's homophobic comments.
Many on social media slammed Chappelle and the streaming platform, including writer Jaclyn Moore, who also serves as showrunner for Netflix's "Dear White People."
In-depth story:How trans 'Harry Potter' fans are grappling with J.K. Rowling's legacy after her transphobic comments
"I've been thrown against walls because, 'I'm not a "real" woman,' " Moore, who is transgender, tweeted. "I've had beer bottles thrown at me. So, @Netflix, I'm done."
Advocacy group GLAAD responded to the memo Monday.
“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," GLAAD said in a statement. "While Netflix is home to groundbreaking LGBTQ stories, now is the time for Netflix execs to listen to LGBTQ employees, industry leaders, and audiences and commit to living up to their own standards.”
Last week, the group tweeted that Chappelle's brand "has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/enter...ts/6094754001/
[Reply]
Originally Posted by staylor26:
No you tapped out by ignoring 95% of my post that you were quoting. Realizing that you’re wasting my time by continuing to ignore my points does not equal a tap out. If you care to actually come up with a real rebuttal, I’d be happy to continue.
What points did I ignore that you think I am avoiding? I can't respond to everything you say and will naturally pick the things that I think are important to address as I'm sure you do with mine.
Originally Posted by :
No matter what I say you continued to talk about me like I’m some stereotypical conservative that you have all figured out while not even acknowledging what I said about my life growing up and how I probably relate to black culture more than you ever can.
Your background may play a part in why you like Chappelle. I'm not denying that to be the case? You could very easily have a better understanding of black culture than me because of said background. But I'm sorry, your opinions on race and BLM are the same as every other dipshit conservative on here. In fact I just went and checked to make sure I wasn't mistaken and it's even worse than I thought. Yeah, there is absolutely no way you are relating to Chappelle's material outside of just laughing at different things about black culture that he mocks.
[Reply]
Originally Posted by staylor26:
This guy gets Patrice O’Neal.
Patrice had no desire to change people. Yes, he might’ve thought all white people were racist, but he also knew he was racist too. He was never outraged regardless of the lines that were crossed. He’d just laugh or clap back when it was necessary.
Like I said, the dude went on national TV and defended Don Imus before cancel culture was even a thing. That speaks volumes about his principles and his belief that the difference between an offensive statement and a joke is all about intent.
That's what I liked about comedians of that time that I think is lost today.
They knew the value of defending the attempt to be funny. As Patrice said, funny people should be left to try and be funny. Funny and unfunny jokes all come from the same place, and to stifle the attempt, is to stifle comedy altogether.
Jim Norton's debate with Lindsey West had the same philosophy. As screwed up as Jim Norton is, he defended comedy like a pro.
In both their interviews, they made the point that even the most offensive jokes don't cause violence. They point out that the general consensus is that TV/movies/video games don't cause violence, but offensive comedy somehow does.
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