Dave Chappelle says he is willing to engage in constructive dialogue with members of the LBGTQ community. But the comedian also stated emphatically that he will not bend “to anybody’s demands.”
Chappelle used his Instagram page on Monday, Oct. 25, 2021, to enumerate the stipulations by which he will accept an audience with the transgender community at Netflix to reconcile their differences.
“To the transgender community, I am more than willing to give you an audience, but you will not summon me. I am not bending to anybody’s demands. And if you want to meet with me, I’d be more than willing to, but I have some conditions,” Chappelle said in the video clip from his most recent concert.
“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.”
Chappelle came under fire when his latest Netflix special, “The Closer,” debuted on Oct. 5, 2021, and allegedly contained transphobic and homophobic remarks that incited a walkout at Netflix.
“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,” Chappelle said in the video. “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.”
