Comedian Dave Chappelle has never shied away from pushing the boundaries, which led him to take some heat from some Twitter users who took issue with his LGBTQ and rape jokes.
Chappelle released two Netflix comedy specials, “The Age of Spin: Live at the Hollywood Palladium” and “Deep in the Heart of Texas: Live at Austin City Limits,” Tuesday, March 22, which contain jokes about gay rights and the term LGBTQ.
“Y’all always have some kind of gay political argument; the last one was about a petition in federal court to take the words ‘husband’ and ‘wife’ out of the law,” Chappelle said in one set. “And I said, ‘Why would you want those words out the law?’ He said, ‘Because it discriminates against same-sex couples,’ I was like, ‘N—- please, save me the semantics, take your chips out of the casino you’re about to crap out. Go outside, talk it over amongst yourselves, and whichever one of you is gayer, that’s the wife.’ ”
Another joke took aim at the “Q” in LGBTQ, which stands for “questioning,” by saying “It’s for gay dudes that don’t really know they’re gay.”
Chappelle also tackled rape in both specials by taking on his idol Bill Cosby’s rape allegations, something he discussed ahead of the shows’ debuts.
“The Bill Cosby thing was tough for me,” Chappelle told The New York Times Friday, March 17. “I’m not saying that to detract from his alleged victims at all. But, he was a hero of mine. So many bad things happened to our heroes. … And Bill just looked like one of the guys who was going to get to the finish line and just die of old age. And this happened. Jesus Christ. It’s awful.”
Several people have tweeted their disgust over Chappelle’s comic subject matter.
But Chappelle's material was homophobic and transphobic and involved rape culture. I've grown too much not to speak up about it now.
— April (@ReignOfApril) March 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/Alex_Wiley/status/844941295646846976
Dave Chappelle telling my generation how stupid they are while making gay jokes is so frustrating. You used to be so progressive. WTF. 😔
— lobo blanco 🐺 (@Wolfbradleylife) March 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/AndroidSparky/status/844811692521353216
This is exactly why it's not "just jokes." Far too many cishet folks actually believe the things he was saying about trans women.
— Raquel Willis (she/her) (@RaquelWillis_) March 22, 2017
Chappelle had many defenders, too, and some wondered why his raunchy political jokes were treated differently than white performances.
https://twitter.com/avatarcmoney/status/844403884139393025
https://twitter.com/Y2Dre/status/844604928089821184
https://twitter.com/mamabear_Ty/status/844507537626075137
Gays: straight ppl are trash white ppl are trash cis ppl are trash
*laughter*
Dave chappelle: i met a gay guy once who talked funny
Gays: pic.twitter.com/T2KVIX6M0b
— big dookie (@ClutchLikeRomo) March 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/AdrianArias182/status/844596673439580161
