Comedian Jerrod Carmichael called out Dave Chappelle for his recent stand-up that targets trans individuals, but also other comics doing the same and who make a villain on stage of perceived “cancel culture” for voicing those opinions.
Carmichael, who during his HBO stand-up special from April titled “Rothaniel” came out as gay, said in an interview that Chappelle is going down a strange path with his comments that first surfaced in his Netflix stand-up special “The Closer” and offended many in the transgender community.
“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 s—?,” he told GQ. “It’s an odd hill to die on. And it’s like, hey, bro. Who the f— are you? Who do you f—? What do you like to do? Childish jokes aside, who the f— are you? It’s just kind of played. But he’s choosing to die on the hill. So, alright, let him.”
Carmichael is arguably one of the rare comedians who has openly criticized Chappelle, who has continued to perform and even repeat such material that had once inspired walkouts at Netflix. But he additionally said the idea that Chappelle has been “canceled” for having an opinion on being trans is simply “not true.”
“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. It’s like, listen, that’s the most urgent thing in your life? God bless you. I’m tired of hearing it.”
Elsewhere in the GQ profile, Carmichael discussed his life after publicly coming out, saying that only his niece texted him after the special aired to say, “I see you. I hear you,” but that the response from much of the rest of his family was muted.
Check out the full piece here.
