It’s been three weeks since The Closer hit Netflix and the controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle still has no clear end in sight.
During The Closer, Chappelle went on a lengthy rant about the LGBTQ+ community, a group he has targeted with “jokes” in previous Netflix specials, and used DaBaby as a pawn in his argument. Explaining that DaBaby was cancelled faster for his homophobic rant at Rolling Loud than he was for shooting and killing a man in self defense in a North Carolina Wal-Mart, Chappelle boiled down a bunch of facts into the loose message that you will be punished more quickly and more severely for offending a community of people than you would for killing another human being.
In the days following The Closer, Chappelle received a ton of backlash for his comments and there have been increasingly louder calls for Netflix to remove the special from the streaming platform. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos nixed that idea, and has publicly voiced his support for Chappelle. However, after firing an employee who threatened to organize a walk out in protest of Chappelle and The Closer, Sarandos admitted he had mishandled the whole situation.
Despite Chappelle’s repeated claims that he is unbothered by the backlash and that he “loves being cancelled,” it had been rumored that the 48-year-old was willing to speak with the Netflix employees who participated in the October 20 walk out, and this weekend, in an appearance at Nashville’s Bridgestone arena, Chappelle laid out the terms for having a discussion.
The first condition, according to a TMZ report, is that anybody who wants to talk to him has to watch The Closer from start to finish. The second: the discussion has to take place at a time and place of Chappelle’s choosing. And third, whoever wants to speak to him has to admit that Hannah Gadsby, the Australian comedian who tore Chappelle and Netflix apart in response to The Closer, is not funny.
While the first two conditions seem fair enough, the third is sure to cause even more controversy, and is yet another example of Chappelle’s flippant response to the entire situation. Whether or not he ever actually sits down with Netflix employees is obviously yet to be seen, but it’s doubtful that a condition as subjective as “admit this person who posted mean things about me is not funny,” will be met with much humor or willingness to talk about it.
What do you think of Chappelle’s conditions for a discussion? Let us know in the comments.
[Via]