“Star Trek” star Wil Wheaton slammed Dave Chappelle for making “dehumanizing” jokes about transgenders in his Netflix special and said holding the comedian “accountable” isn’t “racist.”
“But for a transgender person, those ‘jokes’ normalize hateful, ignorant, bigoted behavior towards them,” the 49-year-old actor wrote in a Facebook post. The comments were noted by the New York Post in a piece published Thursday. (RELATED: ‘Gender Is A Fact’: They’re Not Going To Be Happy With Dave Chappelle’s Latest Bit On Trans Culture)
“Those ‘jokes’ contribute to a world where transgender people are constantly under threat of violence, because transgender people have been safely, acceptably, dehumanized,” he added. “And it’s all okay, because they were dehumanized by a Black man. And the disingenuous argument that it’s actually racist to hold Chapelle accountable for this? Get the fuck out of here.” (RELATED: ‘No One Can Be Woke Enough’: Dave Chappelle And Joe Rogan Rip ‘Woke Ideology,’ Defend Elon Musk)
Wheaton admits he was influenced by homophobic jokes in one of the most famous standup routines of all time: “All of it was cruel. All of it was bigoted. All of it was punching down. And I didn’t know any better” (via @toofab)https://t.co/Sd5n60ynDz
— TMZ (@TMZ) December 9, 2021
“Literally every queer person I know (and I know a LOT) is hurt by Chapelle’s actions,” Wheaton continued. “When literally every queer person I know says ‘this is hurtful to me,’ I’m going to listen to them and support them, and not tell them why they are wrong, as so many cishet white men do. If you’re inclined to disregard queer voices, especially as they relate to this specific topic, I encourage you to reflect on your choices and think about who you listen to and why.”
Immediately after “The Chappelle” show star’s special “The Closer” came out on the streaming site he faced a backlash, with people calling for Netflix to pull it over his comments about the LGBTQ community.
Chappelle has slammed attacks over the special being about him versus the LGBTQ community and said his new special is about “corporate interests.” The legendary comedian said it’s actually about what he “can say” and “cannot say.”