Dave Chappelle's Netflix stand-up controversy: Here's everything that has happened so far

Dave Chappelle was embroiled in controversy when his comedy act The Closer came under fire for the transphobic and homophobic commentary made in his show. Since the release of the stand-up special, several LGBTQ communities and hundreds of Netflix' employees have asked for the show to be taken down from the streaming platform. However, the streaming giant refused to take down the show and continued to support Chapelle.

Hundreds of Netflix employees conducted a walkout protesting the streamer’s defence of Chappelle’s stand-up special on October 20. Chappelle in a new video shared via his Instagram has now said that he was open to having conversations with the employees but he was never invited to talk.

Dave Chapelle controversy, everything that has happened so far

On his latest show, Dave Chappelle seemed to intentionally and jokingly call himself 'transphobic' multiple times, sharing how the term had got stuck with him over the years. He clarified that he never had a problem with transgenders, but with white people. Among his other controversial mentions on the show was his discomfort at being 'tricked' into describing a transwoman as beautiful. Chappelle also sided with Harry Potter author JK Rowling's anti-trans comments, stating that he was 'team TERF' which stood for trans-exclusionary radical feminist and asserting that 'gender is a fact'.

Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos defends Chapelle

In an interview with Variety, the streamer's co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos admitted that the company 'screwed up' in internal communication reading the show. However, he defended the company's decision to not remove the show from their platform and stated that he doesn’t believe it falls into the category of 'hate speech.'

Netflix employees stage walkout

On October 20, hundreds of Netflix's employees staged a walkout to protest Netflix management’s uncompromising position on Dave Chappelle’s stand-up. In response to the protest, Netflix released a statement that read, "We value our trans colleagues and allies and understand the deep hurt that’s been caused. We respect the decision of any employee who chooses to walk out and recognize we have much more work to do both within Netflix and in our content."

Dave Chapelle's reps say he is open to having conversations 

A representative of Dave Chappelle told People that he is open to dialogue with the streaming platform's employees who have protested against his show. The representative said, "Dave stands by his Art. Both sides of the street are talking and Dave is listening. At some point, when everyone is open, I'm sure our communities will come together." However, Transgender activist Ashlee Marie Preston, who organized the employee walk-out and protest on Wednesday, claimed that Chappelle was invited to participate in a discussion but he did not show up. 

Dave Chapelle hits back

In a new video posted on Instagram, Chapelle could be heard saying, "It was 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 invited me, I would have accepted it, although I'm confused about what we're speaking about." He continued, "For the record, and I need you to know this. Everyone I know from that community has been nothing but loving and supporting. So I don't know what all this nonsense is about."

(Image: Unsplash/AP)