Alison Grillo n see both sis of the bate around Dave Chappelle’s latt Netflix stand-up special, “Sticks & Ston,” which has been cricized for jok about LGBTQ people. As a edian, she thks Chappelle should be ee to joke about anythg. But as a trans woman, she said one of his jok “rankled” her a ltle b.“I wouldn’t say you shouldn’t make jok about Michael Jackson, or you shouldn’t make jok about trans people unls you’re trans, or you shouldn’t make jok about school shootgs unls you’ve been a school shootg. No. I wouldn’t put that level of censorship on anyone,” Grillo told she didn’t love a joke which a character isn’t sure what pronoun to e for trans people: “I gus the most offensive joke I would say, personally, was the joke about the LGBT people the r, and when he says, ‘Oh, y, hi, whatever pronoun you’re fortable wh.’ That kd of rankled me a ltle b. But otherwise, I didn’t thk was a terribly mean-spired performance.”By nature, edy specials mix tth wh jok that aren’t meant to be taken serly. But Chappelle has ught cricism om some viewers who thk he’s punchg down, targetg people who historilly haven’t been given a voice edy or society at “Sticks & Ston,” Chappelle go after many unexpected targets, cludg the men who’ve acced Michael Jackson of moltg them as children. He also likens LGBTQ people to passengers on a long road trip who don’t always get Read: Bradley Cooper, Jon Stewart, Tiffany Haddish to Honor Dave Chappelle at Kennedy CenterMany have taken sis, but TheWrap sought out the opns of people who n see the special om both a edic and LGBTQ perspective.“I’m sure a lot of people will be not happy wh , or have their feelgs hurt,” Grillo said. “If you don’t like , you don’t buy his album or you don’t click on his face. I don’t mean to dismiss his power as an entertaer — I mean, y, he has a sense of rponsibily. But if you look at his whole act, you n say that many ways, he means well.”He also talks about an argument he once had wh a work standards-and-practic employee that clus him askg, “Why is that I n say the word n—– wh such impuny, but I n’t say the word f—–?”Chappelle’s pot is that there’s a double standard around the slurs. But lbian edian Elsa Eli Wahe said that askg the qutn is “not a good look” for Chappelle.“For the same reason wh n’t say n-word. You don’t belong to the group. This is mad simple, not clever and low hangg u. Not a good look Dave,” Wahe Read: 'Survivg R. Kelly' Director Dream Hampton Says Dave Chappelle Misquoted Her When He Acced Her of Misquotg Him“Sure, everythg is fair game,” she elaborated, a statement to TheWrap. “But he his platform to make jok about rape victims, trans folks, and the LGBTQ muny. Wh all that’s gog on the world, that’s what he choos to do?”As opns swirl around whether Chappelle’s jok are fair play or if they’ve gone too far, some nservativ have e to Chappelle’s fense, llg him a ee-speech champn.“Of urse, ee speech, and I support his right ’e I want the same latu,” Wahe said. “But when the alt-right thks you’re dog somethg right, you’re probably wrong.”Also Read: Michael Jackson Accers Cricize Dave Chappelle's Joke About Not Believg ThemGay edian Guy Branum, known for “The Mdy Project” and “Awkward,” tweeted succctly: “Comedians should support each other and one way Dave Chapelle [sic] uld support me more is by llg me a f—– ls,” he didn’t rpond to a requt for English looks at a different way. A gay stand-up edian who has appeared VICELAND’s “Funny How?” and wrten for “The Rundown wh Rob The” on B.E.T., he says that Chappelle uld actually be “providg visibily” to the LGBTQ muny.“In my opn, people don’t take the time to actually listen to everythg thg he says his jok,” English told TheWrap. “As a gay person, I’d actually feel left out if he didn’t have any material on . In my personal opn, anythg and anyone n be ma fun of, but only an actually funny person n pull off. A edian’s job is to observe, so way, he’s providg visibily to a group of people whom are ignored nstantly, pecially the LGBTQ muny (which was the unrlyg tth his ‘r’ b).”Dewayne Perks, a gay edian and actor who has wrten for “Brooklyn Ne-Ne” and “The Break wh Michelle Wolf,” said the nversatn should be much bigger than jt Chappelle.“Stand-up as an artistic medium has historilly been exclive terms of who is targeted jok and even gets to participate. Hence the lack of mastream queer ics, pecially queer black ics. But this isn’t new, didn’t start wh Dave Chappelle and won’t end wh Dave Chappelle,” Perks told TheWrap.“So to make the nversatn about him ignor the bigger issue of a simple lack of reprentatn edy,” Perks add. “If more energy was actually spent jt givg those margalized voic a bigger platform, their art uld speak for themselv, and turn be an active unterpot to edy that people feel is problematic.”Read origal story LGBTQ Comedians Rpond to Dave Chappelle’s ‘Sticks and Ston’ At TheWrap
Contents:
WHAT IS DAVE CHAPPELLE’S PROBLEM WH GAY PEOPLE?
Dave Chapelle didn’t jt offend the LGBTQ muny wh his latt standup special. He betrayed the legacy of the Black ic tradn he hered. Some of the most inic Black edians were eher gay or affirmed them their performanc. * dave chappelle lgbt *
"In our untry, you n shoot and kill a n**** but you better not hurt a gay person's feelgs, " Chappelle quipped. "Chapelle's transphobia & lack of unrstandg that Blk ppl n be both Black *&* gay shows exactly why 's cril to unrstand tersectnaly & how Blk cishet men, spe beg margalized for their Blkns, n perpetuate systems of opprsn, " Dr.
The Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn also cricized the edian. "The edian end the special by sayg he would not be makg anymore jok about gay people until everyone agreed "we are lghg together, " so long as the LGBTQ+ muny stopped takg away job opportuni om people who offend them. She was a edian her soul, " Chappelle said, before explag that he will no longer tell jok wh gay people as the punchle.
"Empathy is not gay. Addrsg “the LBGTQ [sic] muny directly, ” Chappelle says that he peace while wishg to “negotiate the release of DaBaby”—the chart-toppg rapper who ma some homophobic ments durg his set at Miami’s Rollg Loud ftival back July—before exprsg how jealo he is of the progrs that the LGBTQ muny has ma pared to Black people, and reuntg the time a gay whe man lled the police on him At after Chappelle nonted the man about filmg him and his wife bar. ” Here, Chappelle is referrg to the Black men he’s prevly ced The Closer—DaBaby, Kev Hart, and himself—who have been, his ey, victimized (translatn: missed out on some job opportuni, while remag very rich and popular) by the LGBTQ muny for tellg transphobic and homophobic jok, or makg homophobic ments, and ially refg to apologize for them.
The natn’s largt LGBTQ advocy group released s annual Corporate Equaly Inx — a tool that sr pani on their polici for lbian, gay, * dave chappelle lgbt *
Richard Pryor was bisexual and raised money for a gay rights anizatn. Eddie Murphy, for example, unleashed a blisterg seri of homophobic slurs his early standup rout – performanc for which he’s sce apologized. In 1977, Pryor headled a gay rights fundraiser where he talked on stage about enjoyg sex wh a man.
Pryor’s bisexualy was well-known among his iends, though some who were close to him still ny that he was gay.