It wouldn’t be a new Dave Chappelle comedy special if there wasn’t a certain amount of controversy. And though the comedian’s issues with trans people and the LGBTQ+ community, as a whole, have come up before, it appears that the new Chappelle Netflix special, “The Closer,” has put the situation front and center, causing at least one streaming collaborator to threaten to walk away from the platform in protest.
In the new comedy special, “The Closer,” people are latching on to a segment where Dave Chappelle, in no uncertain terms, says, “Gender is a fact.” He effectively dismisses the idea that trans people are valid and trans women or trans men can identify as women or men, respectively. As you might guess, this portion of the comedy special has drawn a lot of attention, including that of Jaclyn Moore, an executive producer on the Netflix comedy series, “Dear White People.”
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Moore, who is a trans woman, has been previously featured as part of Netflix’s Pride celebration in 2020, and she went on Twitter to not only voice her displeasure at the Chappelle comedy special but to also let Netflix know that she will no longer work with the streaming platform, as long as it continues to support anti-LGBTQ+ messages.
“I will not work with them as long as they continue to put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content,” Moore tweeted. “I love so many of the people I’ve worked with at Netflix. Brilliant people and executives who have been collaborative and fought for important art… But I’ve been thrown against walls because ‘I’m not a “real” woman.’ I’ve had beer bottles thrown at me. So, [Netflix], I’m done.”
In addition to her work on “Dear White People,” Moore has previously produced series such as “Queen America” and the HBO Max show, “Love Life.” She is also attached as an executive producer for the upcoming relaunch of “Queer as Folk.”
It’s unclear how/if Netflix will respond to this sort of outrage. Obviously, the streaming platform has had a long and profitable relationship with Chappelle, releasing numerous specials from the comedian. So, it would seem unlikely that would change now. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Here’s the interview Moore did for Netflix during Pride month in 2020:
