Netflix employees stage walk-out to protest Dave Chappelle’s stand-up 'The Closer'

The controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle latest comedy act The Closer doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon as hundreds of employees of Netflix have planned to stage a walkout protesting the streamer’s defence of Chappelle’s stand-up special. Chappelle's special stirred a major backlash for the transphobic and homophobic commentary made in his show. Netflix has continued to defend the controversial show and the streamer's co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos in an interview said that the show won't be taken down from the platform.

Netflix employees stage walkout to protest Dave Chappelle’s stand-up

As per Variety, hundreds of Netflix's employees have planned to stage 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."

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.'

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 transgender people, but with white people. Among his other controversial mentions on the show was his discomfort at being 'tricked' into describing a transwoman as beautiful. 

LGBTQ communities like GLAAD and the National Black Justice Coalition criticized Chappelle's transphobic and homophobic and called for the special to be pulled from the streamer. As per Hollywood Reporter, Chappelle performed on Thursday night at a star-studded and sold-out show at L.A.’s iconic Hollywood Bowl and in response to a standing ovation said, "If this is what being cancelled is like, I love it."

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