this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2024
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Dave Chappelle has released a new Netflix special, The Dreamer, which is full of jokes about the trans community and disabled people.

“I love punching down!” he tells the audience, in a one-hour show that landed on the streaming service today (31 December).

It’s his seventh special for Netflix and comes two years after his last one, the highly controversial release The Closer.

That programme was criticised for its relentless jokes about the trans community, and Chappelle revisits the topic in his new show.

He tells jokes about trans women in prison, and about trans people “pretending” to be somebody they are not.

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[–] leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 239 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It's amazing how many snowflake comedians start crying about being cancelled and then go on to have numerous netflix specials about it. Almost like they were never actually cancelled in the first place but they learnt that if they said they were enough times, the terminally dim people who enjoy their material will pay money to see their bully fantasies played out on stage by an old rich guy.

[–] markr@lemmy.world 94 points 10 months ago (1 children)

'cancelled' is now simply "people were mean to me on shitter". Their right to express vile horseshit is obviously intact.

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[–] Ranvier@sopuli.xyz 51 points 10 months ago (4 children)
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[–] cmbabul@lemmy.world 173 points 10 months ago (2 children)

In one of Dave’s early Netflix specials he talks about Bill Cosby and how complicated his crimes were for a black standup who was both inspired and influenced by Cosby as regardless of how shitty he is as a person is a giant of that medium. I sort of feel that way about Dave now, his show and early standup sets were so fundamental to how my sense of humor formed that I can’t completely divorce myself from them, but who he’s become is shameful and i can’t ride with him anymore.

Like fuck him for being so shitty and bigoted in general, but an extra fuck him for letting down the people he inspired and influenced. He’s become the very thing he should have destroyed

[–] TommySalami@lemmy.world 41 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Yeah, I'm right there with you. He came up in a conversation over the holidays and I had to go through how in my opinion he had potential to be one of, if not the best, comic of his generation and he squandered it by needlessly punching down and taking oddly vindictive stances. Maybe this is always who he was, but I think the fame and frustration that came with how his career played out changed him.

I can't reconcile the Dave from old interviews and shows with this one, and it's kinda sad.

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[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 137 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (5 children)

I am so sick of his comedy of grievance. Every act he does over the past few years is about how unfair the world is to him and how people don't acknowledge how great he is.

He's riding out the glory of an okay sketch show that he made two seasons and then torpedoed 20 years ago.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 81 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Yeah, I’m reminded of Jerry Seinfeld. Some comedians are great for life, most have a time and a place and excel then and there. I’m the 90s Seinfeld was bigger than big, in the 10s he was telling college campuses they’re too pc for not laughing at jokes about trans people. In the 00s Chappelle left on a high note and was a popular icon of comedy who quit too soon. In the 20s he was a raging bigot who should’ve stayed quit. Meanwhile Larry David is still making tv and fairly popular, but that’s because he mostly sticks to punching himself in the face.

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 63 points 10 months ago (5 children)

Chappelle has said that Key and Peele were just doing "his show." But look at how Jordan Peele has reinvented himself as one of the iconic horror film directors of our generation (and maybe all time?). He wouldn't be out of place in a list alongside Alfred Hitchcock, Eli Roth, M. Night Shyamalan, Clive Barker, or George A. Romero.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 36 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Also, like so? People wanted more and you quit so others said they could do something similar. And as you said, Peele is doing stuff nobody dared do before in a different genre now.

I think at the root of his problem Chappelle seems to think that he’s the greatest and people just refuse to see it. He seems to lack the humility that is needed for a comedian to stay relatable

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[–] leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 33 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Gonna take friendly umbrage with you putting Shyamalan on that list but not mentioning John Carpenter or Wes Craven :)

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[–] Zahille7@lemmy.world 69 points 10 months ago (5 children)

I remember in "The Closer" he said "now Key & Peele are on Comedy Central, doing my show."

Like dude, you did not invent the sketch comedy show. SNL had been going on for decades before he even thought of doing his own spin on it. I used to like his comedy, but not so much after that special, and definitely not after this.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 45 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I grew up with (and loved) the Chappelle Show but Key & Peele is sooo much better. I rewatched some of his show a few years ago and most of the skits don't hold up well at all. It's mostly just black stereotype caricatures that are only "not racist" because a black guy wrote them

[–] Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world 36 points 10 months ago (2 children)

The fucked part is one of the reasons he stopped doing Chapelle Show was (according to him sometimes) because he recognized a good chunk of his audience was laughing at the black stereotype shit instead of with him about how ridiculous it was. And now he's cashing in on punching down at other groups and cares not a bit about it.

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[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 40 points 10 months ago

Dude is a multi millionaire in his 50s who does nothing but bitch about how other rich people "stole" his money. Sooooo relatable Dave, wow!

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 114 points 10 months ago (20 children)

What. The. Fuck.

I've never been the biggest Chappelle fan, but years ago, before he started going down this path, I had basic respect for him as a comedian. Now he's actually promoting punching down? And he didn't feel like he was punching down enough with trans people, so he had to be an ableist as well as a transphobe?

And Netflix would not have put this on their site sight unseen, so they 100% knew that this was a celebration of attacking vulnerable people.

Christ, even when I was in high school I knew that the guy who pushed the kid in the wheelchair over onto their side was a shithead and so did almost everyone else. So basically Chapelle wants his fan base to be the little weasel kid who stands behind the bully with a grin on his face because someone else is getting it when it could have been them.

I wonder if anyone will come in here and defend him with some mumbo jumbo about free speech?

[–] PurpleTentacle@lemmy.world 48 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

Here he is introducing (and inadvertently humiliating) his friend Elon, who he shares a shocking amount of awful views with:

https://youtu.be/BdBga225HBk

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 46 points 10 months ago

Chappelle still tries to act like he's one of the disenfranchised black people, while living in a mansion and hanging out with Elon Musk.

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[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 83 points 10 months ago (31 children)

I said it in his last special, a comedian doesn't punch down. Apparently he heard this criticism from others and decided to double down. He's truly become a piece of shit of a guy and I wouldn't be surprised if he's jumped on the Maga train.

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[–] rbesfe@lemmy.ca 69 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (11 children)

As usual, the algorithmic media machine is trying to drum up anger and emotion because that gets clicks and ad views. There were definitely a few transphobic jokes that I was not okay with, but to say he the special is "filled" with them is a bit much.

Also the quote "I love punching down" was clearly not sincere the way he delivered it. I didn't like the special, but the outrage over it is overblown especially considering that putting it in the news will only get more people watching it.

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[–] yesman@lemmy.world 68 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Dave Chappelle is the Clarence Thomas of comedy.

Anybody who's followed Chris Rock since the 90s will be familiar. It starts out as an "edgy" black comedian with an overwhelmingly white audience. It ends with your core audience using you as a black voice, that one black friend, who justifies regressive politics. I don't know if Dave is in on the joke, laughing all the way to the bank. Either way, he's playing the clown.

I thought the whole reason he abandoned his successful show was in part a refusal to shuck and jive. Kinda disappointing that he's putting on a minstrel show now.

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[–] Kerriganindrag@lemmy.dbzer0.com 67 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm not sure why people are surprised.

He's always held these opinions, he just hid them among other opinions that weren't as noticeable because he spread the hate around, and mostof the jokes were funny.

This is the same guy that got on his show, and had a segment where a white girl sang his words for him. If you can find the clip without using a service he profits from (I can't right now, it's only available in little "shorts" on YouTube), the whole thing is just him saying shit he doesn't like, that would get his ass "cancelled" if he said them. And the longest segment is about gay sex being gross. Trans issues weren't as visible back then, but the guy has always said this type of thing.

But for some reason, he's stopped doing it to everyone, which is what made it acceptable. He didn't spare any group, but he also didn't target any single group more often than others, except perhaps black people. And it's always acceptable to joke about your own group.

Now, he's just being a douche. The jokes aren't at all funny unless you find it funny to just bash people with no attempt at humor. It has gone far past the kind of abrasive, but exaggerated hate he used to use, but it isn't something new.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 31 points 10 months ago

But for some reason, he’s stopped doing it to everyone

That's what always happens. It turns out when you're an asshole to "everyone", eventually you're just an asshole to minorities.

[–] Facebones@reddthat.com 64 points 10 months ago (1 children)

"I love punching down!"

When someone tells you who they are, believe them.

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[–] Cannacheques@slrpnk.net 61 points 10 months ago (2 children)

He's running out of content

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[–] LotrOrc@lemmy.world 56 points 10 months ago (11 children)

I'm not sure how many of you watched this based on the comments here

But his jokes really were not transphobic in this special at all

Watch the thing with context and see

[–] vxx@lemmy.world 41 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (10 children)

But as it was happening… I was very disappointed. Because I wanted to meet Jim Carrey, and I had to pretend this n*gga was Andy Kaufman… all afternoon. It was clearly Jim Carrey. I could look at him and I could see he was Jim Carrey.

Anyway, I say all that to say… that’s how trans people make me feel.

That's extremely transphobic and not even an attempt at being funny.

Edit:

“Give me your fruit cocktail, bitch, before I knock your motherf*cking teeth out. I’m a girl, just like you, bitch. Come here and suck this girl’s dick I got. Don’t make me explain myself. I’m a girl”

Also very transphobic, and there's more.

Here's the complete transcript of his new program.

https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/comedy/dave-chappelle-the-dreamer-transcript/

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[–] Entertainmeonly@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 10 months ago (16 children)

Could you give some context? I'm definitely not going to watch it based on just a "take my word for it" argument. He's been known to toe the line and get rude when people call him out on it. At this point I have to assume he is being transphobic simply because that's been a problem for him in the past.

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[–] Clbull@lemmy.world 47 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (9 children)

I'm shocked that Dave Chappelle not only went down this route but has doubled down, especially since he walked from his own show nineteen years ago due in part to the negative racial stereotypes being pushed by the show's execs and the lack of creative control Comedy Central gave him.

And I'm more shocked that Netflix thought it was wise to release another special filled with transphobic drivel, especially since the last one generated so much negative press for them.

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[–] nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org 44 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I watched both his and Gervais' latest last night out of morbid curiosity. Both were profoundly unfunny. To be fair, Chappelle was marginally funnier than Gervais, whose act seemed like a barely-disguised checklist of right-wing talking points spouted off by a narcissistic man-baby who constantly laughs at his own "jokes" (and seemed like he had a laugh track or just poor audio editing) Chappelle, at least, elicited a few chuckles when he was willing to make himself or th, insanely wealthy (pretty lackluster running bit about the submarine implosion) the butt of the joke. His constant making "joking" about trans, gay, and bisexual people was just not funny.

I think that the root cause of their shifts is that they were always in life for themselves, looking up at the rich and powerful thinking "I want that". So, when they were getting established, the underdog thing was useful. But, they never saw themselves as underdogs but the temporarily-embarrassed millionaires. Once the got their piece, they're right there next to the boomers with the "fuck you, I got mine" attitude to court the favor of those that will reduce their need to give back to the society that they benefitted from. I'm pretty sure neither of them are actually discriminatory in their private lives (they both basically say as much); either they just absolutely lack scruples and are happy to play a shithead to make money and powerful friends or, their pride and ego doesn't allow them to publicly acknowledge fault and not understanding that context and nuance matter (odd to think as they are professional wordsmiths).

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[–] chocolateo@lemmy.world 42 points 10 months ago (1 children)
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[–] Brokewood@lemmy.world 41 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Wait, I thought he already released a special full of trans jokes... Is this another one?

[–] Evilcoleslaw@lemmy.world 36 points 10 months ago (1 children)

He's released multiple at this point. Guess it really is the hill he wants to die on.

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[–] Laereht@lemmy.world 36 points 10 months ago (15 children)

As someone who watched the special I think his greatest crime is just not being funny and thinking he's brave for doubling down. He's a boomer with a fan base and tons of money. If anything, this thread is proof that cancel culture is fake. He's Elon musk if Elon musk used to be funny.

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[–] garretble@lemmy.world 32 points 10 months ago

And then after every joke he does that thing where he slaps the mic on his leg to make a sound to indicate that it’s now time to laugh.

[–] Gazumi@lemmy.world 32 points 10 months ago (4 children)

Cannot watch him now. For me he has even tainted my fun recollection of his early stuff that I'd liked.

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[–] linearchaos@lemmy.world 31 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Ancient comedian desperately struggles to stay relevant, only manages to capture the attention of a few boomers and nazis. news at 11.

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[–] TechyDad@lemmy.world 30 points 10 months ago (12 children)

Punching down is never funny. Picking on people who have been marginalized or attacked for being who they are winds up being cruel, not humorous. Maybe a skilled comedian could punch down in such a way that it's funny, but it would be an extremely rare event.

If you want to punch and be funny, you have two options. The first is to punch up. Hit the people in power. Hit the people who have luxury. For example, a joke making fun of poor people isn't likely to be funny. A joke making fun of wealthy people, though? That has a much better chance of being funny.

The other punch style is the self punch. This is where you make fun of yourself or your own "group." For example, I'm Jewish. If a non-Jew makes a "Jews run the world" joke, it'll likely come across as highly anti-semitic. If I were to make that joke, I'd stand a decent chance of getting a laugh. (Well, assuming that I had basic comedy skills.)

When the right complains that the left has ruined comedy, what they really mean is that they can't make fun of people who are suffering without being called cruel.

[–] escaped_cruzader@lemmy.world 32 points 10 months ago (3 children)

For example, I’m Jewish. If a non-Jew makes a “Jews run the world” joke, it’ll likely come across as highly anti-semitic. If I were to make that joke, I’d stand a decent chance of getting a laugh

You mean to say that the Jews that run the world have access to exclusive jokes?

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[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 28 points 10 months ago (1 children)

He's such a culture warrior hack now. Trans jokes? It's getting old bro. Your material sucks.

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[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago

Not surprised he has all the self reflection of a bigoted comedian being told not to use a slur.

He will be remembered with an asterisk to anything positive he did.

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