More than a week after Dave Chappelle’s controversial special, “The Closer,” aired on Netflix, a debate is still raging about whether the elite jokester should be cancelled for his allegedly homophobic comments. “Dear White People” showrunner, Jaclyn Moore, refuses to work for the streaming service in protest of Chappelle’s words regarding the LBGTQ community.
Fellow comedian Damon Wayans has adopted the opposite stance from Moore. He told TMZ at the Los Angeles International Airport on Monday, Oct. 12, 2021, that Chappelle effectively “freed the slaves.”
“The comedians. We were slaves to PC culture,” Wayans opined in an impromptu interview while leaving LAX. “As an artist, he’s Van Gogh with his ear off. He’s trying to tell us, ‘It’s okay.’”
Wayans, a member of the Wayans family comedy dynasty, indicated that he does not feel the restraints that many other comedians seem handcuffed by.
“I’ve always been free,” Wayans said, adding that he admires Chappelle for risking “all that I have, I’m not afraid to lose it for the sake of freedom of speech.
“You can’t edit yourself,” said Wayans continued. “Comedians … we’re like … Mercedes makes a great car, but they gotta crash a lot of them before they perfect it.”
Wayans, who recently called out Chappelle to appear in a Verzuz battle for comedians, is firmly backing his longtime friend on this issue.
“I can’t speak about the content of the show. But what I say is there’s a bigger conversation we need to have. Someone needs to look us in the eye and say, ‘You’re no longer free in this country. You’re not free to say what you want; you say what we want you to say. Otherwise, we will cancel you.’ That’s the discussion we need to have.”
