“Coming from Chappelle, a joke like that felt like a dare,” Deggans wrote in his article, entitled “For Dave Chappelle, punchlines are dares. His new special, ‘The Closer,’ goes too far,” referencing another quip in the special with the punch line “Space Jews.” “He knows, in the moment, that such a punchline will briefly break the spell he has on the audience, make them rethink their allegiance to him, at least for a second. And he’ll have to work a little to get them back on his team again — which he does,” he continued, adding in parentheses that “He also knows reviewers like me will quote the joke and criticize him for it, which I am. I don’t really care what point he’s trying to make; a joke that sounds like antisemitism gets a hard pass from me.”
The writer also notes the ways in which Chappelle has addressed those who have called him out. “And the message Chappelle has for those who have criticized him about transphobic, homophobic or any other phobic jokes seems to be: Race trumps all.”
However Deggans is not alone in seemingly raising an eyebrow at some of the special’s concerning punch lines. Others online have spoken candidly about taking a hard pass on the special entirely, including Jaclyn Moore, a writer and showrunner for Dear White People. In a recent social media post, Moore accused Netflix of providing a bigger platform for anti-trans rhetoric and as a result, Moore says she will no longer work with the platform.
“After the Chappelle special, I can’t do this anymore,” she explained. “I won’t work for @netflix again as long as they keep promoting and profiting from dangerous transphobic content.”
Although Moore recognizes Chappelle’s importance in the comedy scene, ranking him among her “comic heroes” she says she is less-than-thrilled with the joke included in his special. “His shadow is huge,” she told NBC News earlier this week. “He’s a brilliant goofy comedian, he’s brilliant as a political comedian. He has been brilliant for so so long, but I also don’t think because you’ve been brilliant means that you’re always brilliant.”
So, folks, take it from Dave Chappelle and JK Rowling – don’t spew TERF-y nonsense, unless you have a thing for pissing off pretty much everyone.
For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram @HuntressThompson_ on TikTok as @HuntressThompson_, and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.