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This is the bit that got David Chappelle in a bit of trouble:

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
I think you can joke about anything. Of course people will decry “cancel culture” which is actually as old as art itself. And actually forced a lot of artists to be more creative.
I mean do people seriously think say, Wurthering Heights wasn’t the height of scandalous when it was originally released?
Of course not. It was highly controversial and people wanted to ban it on the grounds of “morality.”

But there’s also technique. Too often a comedian will just hide behind “it’s just a joke bruh” to insult others. Particularly minorities. And then cry victim when those same minorities hit back with criticism.
“Oh people are too sensitive.” No,
your joke just sucked. Or was in too poor taste.

And a key part of that technique I think is empathy. Take South Park for example. Yes they mock everything and are hyperbolic as hell. But their best parodies are always done with a hint of understanding. They’ll ruthlessly mock gamers for being no life loser nerds but actually acknowledge why people like gaming to begin with. Hell they even got Blizzard to design the fake game the kids get obsessed with. And that’s why they’ve managed to stay relevant after all these years. Whereas other adult ranchy shows either ages poorly or you can tell the passion is gone. *cough* Family Guy *cough*
(Though Rick and Morty is still awesome.)
There’s a level of empathy both the creators have even as they mock people. So their jokes whilst often brazen and in bad taste, still manage to connect with people instead of merely bashing them.
With regards to Chapelle, his earlier routine has aged so well because he came with an inherent understanding of the people and situations he made fun of. So he could be brutal but still had that insider knowledge to make the jokes relatable to even those he mocked.
That doesn’t seem to be true with his trans jokes. That doesn’t make him a bad comedian. I think it merely illustrates that a comedian needs to realise their limits and comment on things they have a fundamental understanding of or even just some empathy with.
There’s nothing wrong with recognising your limits as an artist, comedian, writer, what have you.
Of course humour and art is subjective. So if people found this funny, then that’s fair. I found it in poor taste personally. But eh that’s just me
 
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VoidCat

Pronouns: he/him/they/them

It was seen as being too anti-trans. Any comments?
Yeah...it was fine till about 8 minutes in. I got offended by that point. The joke comparing transgender folk to just feeling like you are a different race is offensive to me. A lot of folk use such an a statement to delegitimize trans folk. It shows ignorance on science regarding transgender folk. Aside from that the jokes he told were funny. As was most the video. It's just that one part I think that pissed folk off
 

The Hammer

[REDACTED]
Premium Member
Some of it was funny, some things not as much. The trans-racial bit was a little much imo. But his thing (Chapelle) has always been a bit about saying shocking things.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
Yeah...it was fine till about 8 minutes in. I got offended by that point. The joke comparing transgender folk to just feeling like you are a different race is offensive to me. A lot of folk use such an a statement to delegitimize trans folk. It shows ignorance on science regarding transgender folk. Aside from that the jokes he told were funny. As was most the video. It's just that one part I think that pissed folk off
Valid point.

I think that a lot of people are unaware of the science of transgenderism.
 

Subduction Zone

Veteran Member
I'm just one transperson. Other trans folk might not found it offensive.
One thing about the "I feel black inside" joke. That may have been based on reality. In 2015 in Spokane Washington the head of the local branch of the NAACP was outed for being a white person pretending to be black. Rachel Dolezal claimed to be black even though she is very white. Blonde, light skinned, straight hair. She dyed her hair, got a permanent, made her skin look darker, and possibly got a nose job

.
upload_2021-10-24_22-52-26.png


upload_2021-10-24_22-53-13.png
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Yeah...it was fine till about 8 minutes in. I got offended by that point. The joke comparing transgender folk to just feeling like you are a different race is offensive to me. A lot of folk use such an a statement to delegitimize trans folk. It shows ignorance on science regarding transgender folk. Aside from that the jokes he told were funny. As was most the video. It's just that one part I think that pissed folk off
In one of his earlier Nerflix special he did upfront renounce the trans-racial thing and denounced Rachel whatshername. So I thought him saying that in this seemed odd.
I also thought it was odd he considers himself a TERF but he does use appropriate pronouns while TERFs widely do not.
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
One thing about the "I feel black inside" joke. That may have been based on reality. In 2015 in Spokane Washington the head of the local branch of the NAACP was outed for being a white person pretending to be black. Rachel Dolezal claimed to be black even though she is very white. Blonde, light skinned, straight hair. She dyed her hair, got a permanent, made her skin look darker, and possibly got a nose job

.View attachment 56999

View attachment 57000
"And didn't even change her name," is what Chappelle pointed out before saying she's stepping into trans territory.
 

VoidCat

Pronouns: he/him/they/them
One thing about the "I feel black inside" joke. That may have been based on reality. In 2015 in Spokane Washington the head of the local branch of the NAACP was outed for being a white person pretending to be black. Rachel Dolezal claimed to be black even though she is very white. Blonde, light skinned, straight hair. She dyed her hair, got a permanent, made her skin look darker, and possibly got a nose job

.View attachment 56999

View attachment 57000
Here's an article I found on that
https://www.google.com/amp/s/slate....transgender-is-different-from-transracial.amp
 

VoidCat

Pronouns: he/him/they/them
In one of his earlier Nerflix special he did upfront renounce the trans-racial thing and denounced Rachel whatshername. So I thought him saying that in this seemed odd.
I also thought it was odd he considers himself a TERF but he does use appropriate pronouns while TERFs widely do not.
Perhaps he actually does not accept trans folk. Perhaps that's why he said it in this special and calls himself a terf.
 

SomeRandom

Still learning to be wise
Staff member
Premium Member
In one of his earlier Nerflix special he did upfront renounce the trans-racial thing and denounced Rachel whatshername. So I thought him saying that in this seemed odd.
I also thought it was odd he considers himself a TERF but he does use appropriate pronouns while TERFs widely do not.
Maybe he was being sarcastic about being a TERF
I mean comedian and all. Or maybe he just has more manners lol
 
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