Yes or No: do you think Dave Chappelle is transphobic?

help me break 16 wrote:

No, he's not afraid of trans people.

He just thinks it's good comedy to kick a group of people who are just now struggling to get some respect and rights in our society. And that's what's really making people disgusted. Making fun of certain people who already have much higher rates of mental illness and suicide. Where is the decency in that?

Why not make fun of cancer patients too while we're at it? It's dumb.

You have not see it yourself have you? Now I watched 2 back to back (Sticks and Stones) so I might be mixing the two, but I think in The Closer his friend Daphne points out how Chappelle is not punching down or up. Watch it to get the full quote.

Let it Rupp wrote:

Chapelle doesn't give a f*ck about trans people. He's making a statement against cancel culture, and social justice warriors trying to police what is socially acceptable and allowed through power and control of societal institutions (the legal system, the media, the education system, etc.). Anyone who has actually heard him speak knows he's not a hateful person, and just wants to bring light to uncomfortable topics through comedy.

He just hates white people :)

LOL!!!!!! Nice handle change Flagpole. You're pushing 60, that must stink for ya as your money won't get you to Heaven.

Flagpole wrote:

Uncle Ricco wrote:

Right... Don't forget other categories you belong in like, super big wang, 10/10 wife, white privilege.

Hmm...while neither confirming or denying, your first one there is crude, so I wasn't about to comment on that. My wife is the best in all ways, so 10/10 is correct, and yes, I DO have white privilege, BUT to be clear, I neither am happy about that nor am I ashamed by that. I WISH it weren't a thing in our culture, but I accept that for now, it is.

The one group that can be made fun of with impunity: Southern white, straight men.

I couldn't care less what Dave Chapelle is or isn't. Bread and circuses folks.

Half the people did not think choking Floyd or the NY fellow thought it was acceptable.

his "friend" actually doesn't speak for an entire community. His friend some someone below him (professionally) and was reliant on him for jobs. Do you think she would say something bad about him?

Trans people are not barred from bathrooms or sports. There is no law anywhere that says a trans person cannot play sports. Some states have laws about which teams people can play on. The reasoning behind the laws I sometimes suspect to be poor, but there are good reasons like fairness and safety.

The bathroom ones are a little weird. Go in a stall and no one will know what sort of plumbing you have.

Prisons are a messy situation when it comes to this as well.

jk rowling wrote:

The fact that he defended JK Rowling means he is either lying to everyone or doesn't really understand context and I'm pretty sure it's the former because he ain't stupid. Political comedy is still politics, and politicians lie constantly to push an agenda. The agenda here is "trans people, wait your turn like we had to because you're getting in the way of our movement"

I heard that as more envy than anything. Trans people have been around forever, but not visible to the community as a whole. The speed of acceptance has been pretty amazing. I don't think that he wants to roll that back.

I would argue that an actor playing a character that is obviously of a different race is problematic. John Wayne as Ghengis Khan? Having a white guy play Othello? Yeah, that would be problematic for me (Olivier did it in blackface in the 60s). Now some characters in literature could easily be changed although I would venture to guess a producer would get more flak for changing a character who is black in a book to being white in a movie than if a white character were flipped to being black especially if a big name black actor were set to play the character.

Luv2Run wrote:

I would argue that an actor playing a character that is obviously of a different race is problematic. John Wayne as Ghengis Khan? Having a white guy play Othello? Yeah, that would be problematic for me (Olivier did it in blackface in the 60s). Now some characters in literature could easily be changed although I would venture to guess a producer would get more flak for changing a character who is black in a book to being white in a movie than if a white character were flipped to being black especially if a big name black actor were set to play the character.

Can you explain to me what's problematic if the actor is not being "campy"? Ben Kingsley darkened his skin with make-up and won the Academy Award for playing Ghandi. Jared Leto won an Oscar playing trans. Heath Ledger won best Actor playing gay. Good actors can play people who are not exactly like them, and play them with respect.

Now - if a white person plays another race and it's distracting because it just looks like a person with make up on then yeah, that's not a good choice for the movie.

And again, if you argue white people should not take non-white roles because then they are taking those few good roles, and we end up with underrepresentation in the profession - I agree.

But beyond that - if someone is playing a role with respect, and if you're not making the argument from the representation perspective - what is inherently problematic about it? Some guy earlier in the thread called it morally wrong, and I really don't see that.

The Gallant Pig Man wrote:

I watched the special. I'm not really able to work myself into much of a lather over it, but I can see why people are upset. He repeatedly made jokes about trans people's genitalia (basically, "aren't they gross? haha!") and then acted confused about why he is accused of punching down. It felt like he was being deliberately obtuse. I wouldn't say that he's mongering hate, but he is being mean. That's forgivable if it's funny but.... it wasn't funny. Listening to him complain about his fraught relationship with the gay and trans communities for 45 minutes was just tedious.

He kept saying that his problem is with white people, not trans people. Well, now all of his biggest fans are white conservatives. That seems like punishment enough.

Loving this SJW debate about whether to disagree with a black guy or defend trans people. I don't think Dave Chappelle is transphobic, but I guarantee OP and posters like the above would rush to say he is if he was white.

Sexual deviancy is proliferating at increased levels in these wicked and profane times. This is no laughing matter.

why weren't people offended when he made fun of black people? They are just jokes

Here is a TV series director/script writer and the lead actress talking about the importance of a transgender person playing a transgender role. Aside from the representation aspect, a cis person playing a trans role could perpetuate people's prejudice. I am not sure if there is something similar with a white person playing a black role.

A much longer interview here.

team Unruly Bush wrote:

sbeefyk2 wrote:

Everyone thinks it’s a phobia if you don’t like people. Guess what, it’s possible to not like a transgender people and not be transphobic. It’s possible to not like gays and not be homophobic. I think it’s understandable if you think transgender people are weird and have a lot of issues. There’s nothing transphobic about that.

Above is a great troll post. That's all I have to say about that.

Chappelle's schtick has always been to talk about uncomfortable topics in a shockingly inappropriate way. Remember when he joked that luxury item and cigarette sells would go through the roof if reparations were paid? And the blind black kkk leader sketch? Is Chappelle racist against blacks?

Thank you for mentioning the Clayton Bigsby sketch, which is one of the all-time great Chapelle skits, although he is making more fun of white racists than black people in that sketch.

poleflag13 wrote:

opinionated objective person wrote:

@Flagpole - this is your best post! Nice way to add some levity with the last bit too. I agree with what you wrote.

I admit, I do actually find Chappelle funny though, but it's probably because I'm an older millennial (38 yrs old) and have been watching his stuff since 1998 or so.

LOL!!!!!! Nice handle change Flagpole. You're pushing 60, that must stink for ya as your money won't get you to Heaven.

1) I'm 55, so I wouldn't call that "pushing 60".

2) Not a handle change. I am not that poster. WEJO, DO AN IP CHECK, AND IF I LIE, BAN ME FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3) Heaven is not a real place.

Wuzzle Wuzzle3 wrote:

his "friend" actually doesn't speak for an entire community. His friend some someone below him (professionally) and was reliant on him for jobs. Do you think she would say something bad about him?

Did you pay attention to the whole show?

Flagpole wrote:

poleflag13 wrote:

LOL!!!!!! Nice handle change Flagpole. You're pushing 60, that must stink for ya as your money won't get you to Heaven.

1) I'm 55, so I wouldn't call that "pushing 60".

2) Not a handle change. I am not that poster. WEJO, DO AN IP CHECK, AND IF I LIE, BAN ME FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3) Heaven is not a real place.

1) You're pushing 60, accept it.

2) You've been wrong on so many big predictions that your word has no clout on this site.

3) Heaven is real. You probably don't even no who wrote the Bible, do ya?

4) You are just over 4 years from 60. Good luck sir!

5) You actually met me at a cross country race years ago. Wow, did you even run?