Abbott Elementary star, Janelle James star had a few things to say about Dave Chappelle’s latest comedy specials.
“The last thing I watched of his was when he came out with all the specials at once,” James told Variety, possibly speaking on when Chappelle released four different specials on Netflix over the course of the year 2017. “Regardless of what he said, I thought it was boring.”
James revealed that she grew up watching the comedian and admiring his work but now she feels like his work is too personal. “I like silly Chappelle,” James said. “He’s in his wisdom bag now. We’re clowns! Once we forget that we’re clowns, then it becomes bad. Your objective is to make people laugh and then sneak your thoughts in underneath the jokes. If your thoughts are on top, that’s not funny or entertaining to me.”
As we all know, Dave Chappelle has been accused of having a problem with the transgender community due to some of his comedy material and statements he has made in interviews. In particular, some members of the transgender community and their allies have criticized Chappelle for jokes they perceive as mocking or belittling transgender people and for perpetuating harmful stereotypes.
Chappelle has defended his comedy as being a form of social commentary and satire, and he has stated that he is not transphobic. However, some of his jokes and comments have been seen by many as insensitive and hurtful, and have led to accusations of transphobia.
Chappelle recently shared a clip to his Instagram addressing his alleged dislike for transgenders and said, “It’s been said in the press that I was invited to speak to the transgender employees of Netflix and I refused. That is not true,” says Chappelle.
“If they had invited me, I would have accepted it, although I am confused about what we would be speaking about. I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. It seems like I’m the only one who can’t go to the office.”
He continues to speak on how he is willing to sit down and speak with the transgender community but says “you will not summon me.”
He even listed a few of his conditions, “I am not bending to anyone’s demands. And if you want to meet with me, I am more than willing to, but I have some conditions. First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing at a time of my choosing, and thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.”