At this point, literally everyone has offered opinions on Dave Chappelle’s continued use of anti-transgender material. Now Jerrod Carmichael has asked some scathingly, honest questions about the Chappelle’s Show star’s seeming obsession with these bigoted observations.
In an interview with GQ, Carmichael explained that in his experience, younger generations are more accepting and open. “I love this generation,” he said. “I actually fuck with them, and fuck all those comedians that are going so hard against them.”
Chappelle has been under fire for repeated use of transphobic “jokes” in his Netflix specials and stand-up routines. The more people criticize and try to reason with him, the more openly defiant and offensive he becomes. After he was attacked on stage at the Hollywood Bowl, his first inclination was to joke that “it was a trans man.” Seriously Dave, shouldn’t that be the last thing on your mind at that moment?
Chappelle has tried to paint himself as a hero fighting against canceled culture. Though Carmichael notes that the successful comedian, who still has sell-out shows and highly-rated specials, is anything but canceled.
“Look, I get it. Everybody’s got to create a boogeyman to sell tickets. But it’s not true,” Carmichael said. “Who’s getting canceled for what they’ve said? What does that mean, that people are mad on Twitter? Everybody’s fine. These grown men are fine. I think, a lot of times, people who offer nothing truthful or meaningful about themselves then complain about society at large and create this boogeyman.”
Carmichael also points out that Chappelle’s obsession with transphobic and homophobic material is hurting the revered comedian’s legacy.
“It’s like, listen, that’s the most urgent thing in your life? God bless you. I’m tired of hearing it. Chappelle, do you know what comes up when you Google your name, bro? That’s the legacy? Your legacy is a bunch of opinions on trans shit? It’s an odd hill to die on,” he said. “And it’s like, hey, bro. Who the fuck are you? Who do you fuck? What do you like to do? Childish jokes aside, who the fuck are you? It’s just kind of played. But he’s choosing to die on the hill. So, alright, let him.”