Won't bend to anyone's demands: Dave Chappelle maintains his stand
Oct 26, 2021
Washington [US], October 26 : After facing huge backlash over his Netflix special 'The Closer', comedian Dave Chappelle has finally addressed the controversy in a new stand-up video.
In the video, Chappelle remained unapologetic about the special. He said that he has no problem meeting the transgender community but he won't bend to anyone's demands.
For the unversed, a few days ago, several Netflix employees walked out to protest the presence of 'The Closer' on the streamer. They claimed that Chappelle has made offensive remarks to the transgender community in the show.
Reacting to the ongoing issue, Chappelle 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 -- 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 that can't go to the office anymore."
Chappelle went on to speak directly to the transgender community under certain conditions, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
"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," he added.
Many LGBTQ celebrities including Dan Levy and Elliot Page have protested against Netflix's 'The Closer'.