Channing Tatum Says He Hates How Dave Chappelle Has “Hurt So Many People” With His Comedy Routines
Hollywood actor Channing Tatum has revealed that he hates the fact that Dave Chappelle has “hurt so many people” with his comedy, despite admitting that the comedian’s words have resonated with him on a personal level in the past.
The 21 Jump Street actor’s comments on Chappelle come after the release of Chappelle’s new Netflix special, The Closer, which has been heavily criticised and labelled as “transphobic” by woke members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I understand that Dave Chappelle is a very dangerous person to talk about at the moment,” wrote Tatum in an Instagram Story shared to his 17 million followers. “I understand and hate that he has hurt so many people with the things he has said.”
He went on, “Any human can hurt someone (usually cause they’re hurt) but any human can heal and heal others just the same. This little piece healed me back in the day. I can’t forget that. This does not excuse anything hurtful tho to be clear.”
The clip featured in Tatum’s post, originally shared by comedian D.L. Hughley, Chappelle can be seen giving his acceptance speech after winning the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize in 2019, wherein the comedian told a story about overcoming his childhood fears.
“My mother used to tell me, ‘Son, some times you have to be a lion so you can be the lamb you really are,'” Chappelle recalled during his speech. “I talked this s—t like a lion. I’m not afraid of any of you. When it comes word to word, I will gab with the best of them just so I can chill and be me.”
He continued, “And that’s why I love my art form. Because I understand every practitioner of it — whether I agree with them or not — I know where they’re coming from. They want to be heard. They got something to say. There’s something they noticed. They just want to be understood. I love this genre. It saved my life.”
Chappelle’s new Netflix special successfully managed to trigger the sensibilities of the LGBTQ+ community, who failed to understand that the comedian’s routines targeted all demographics equally.
For example, woke organisation GLAAD took offence at the renowned comedian’s The Closer special, claiming that “Dave Chappelle’s brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities.”
“Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don’t support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree,” said the organisation in a statement.
Dear White People writer and co-showrunner Jaclyn Moore was also offended by Dave Chappelle’s new special, even going so far as to accuse Netflix of promoting content that was transphobic in nature.
“I will not work with [Netflix] as long as they continue to put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content,” wrote Moore.
Last week, Netflix’s transgender employee resource group (ERG) was reported to have planned a walkout in protest of both Chappelle’s special and Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who openly stated that the comedian’s stand-up routine would not be pulled from the streaming giant.
“Chapelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him,” said Sarandos. “His last special ‘Sticks & Stones,’ also controversial, is our most watched, stickiest and most award-winning stand-up special to date.”
He further added, “As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom — even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful.”
What do you make of Tatum’s comments on Chapelle and his comedy routines? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below or on social media.
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