Last month, Dave Chappelle stirred up some controversy with his Netflix special The Closer. Comments he made about the transgender community led to outrage, including from the streamer’s employees. Chappelle did get some support from the likes of 50 Cent and Caitlyn Jenner. 50 agreed with Chappelle about DaBaby’s homophobic comments, which Chappelle semi-defended, while Caitlyn Jenner said Chappelle’s words were “100% right.” Jay-Z also showed Chappelle some love during a recent conversation about the special on Twitter Spaces.
Jay-Z calls Dave Chappelle “brilliant” while speaking on the controversial special “The Closer” pic.twitter.com/khAMFsTyMY
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jordan (@JustJordan_925) November 5, 2021
Jay spoke said “true art has to cause conversation.” He admitted that The Closer made him uncomfortable at multiple points but said, “Sometimes it’s going to be abrasive, sometimes it’s going to be off-putting to folks. But it opens up an opportunity to have a dialogue.” Jay later called Chappelle “super brave and super genius. If you spend time with him, he’s brilliant,” adding, “I think he pushed a lot of buttons.”
He continued. “These algorithms allow you to talk to people who agree with you,” he said, adding, “We have to speak to one another when we disagree… Anything that doesn’t have that tension, it’s not going to be real. We had fake conversations all this time before Trump was in office, then we got to see people for who they really were. And then we got to have real conversations.”
Jay also said, “I think great art is divisive. Some people like it, some people hate it. When you’re making great art, you have to be fearless and create something that you believe in. That’s what it’s about.”
Jay’s comments come after Chappelle, along with Barack Obama, inducted him into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.