He's a comedian, he makes fun of people. If you don't like it then you're not the target audience. There's plenty of comedians out there making fun of other groups

[–] alyaza@beehaw.org 59 points 2 years ago (1 children)

just to add to the plethora of responses: it rather defies belief that he's purely "joking" when, among other things, he's taken photos with anti-trans legislators like Lauren Boebert and let them frame those photos in this manner:

[–] sholomo@beehaw.org 6 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I don't like Dave new specials, but he said he wasn't pleased with that she did: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/dave-chappelle-poses-lauren-boebert-164759657.html

[–] alyaza@beehaw.org 40 points 2 years ago (2 children)

He said during his standup act at Capital One Arena in Washington that he granted the photo request by Boebert for a human moment to bridge the political divide but felt “blindsided” by her, according to a progressive influencers’ blog.

“It’s a shame she tricked me,” Chappelle said, according to Call to Activism. “I had two tickets to ’Beetlejuice’ and I was going to give her one!”

this is, and i mean this respectfully, one of the weakest condemnations imaginable if he's actually got a problem with her doing this. this has zero teeth. it's also literally Lauren Boebert, a person who has made her name being a freakish culture warrior--what did he think she was going to do?

[–] bermuda@beehaw.org 15 points 2 years ago

for a human moment to bridge the political divide

Of all the people to try to bridge a divide with... yeah, not buying it here either.

[–] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 46 points 2 years ago

Being awful isnt a "target audience" issue. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance

[–] HalJor@beehaw.org 45 points 2 years ago

"Satire is meant to ridicule power. If you are laughing at people who are hurting, it's not satire, it's bullying." -- Someone

[–] TheRtRevKaiser@beehaw.org 38 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Honestly it's kind of hard to know how to respond to this.

We recognize that "I was just joking" isn't a universal defense, otherwise people wouldn't have had an issue with minstrel shows. But as a society we've come to recognize that humor can be persuasive and can inform people's beliefs about what others are like. It's similar to how sites like 4chan that started out with cultures that were drenched in ironic racism eventually were just actually racist.

[–] Volkditty@kbin.social 35 points 2 years ago

"Any community that gets its laughs by pretending to be idiots will eventually be flooded by actual idiots who mistakenly believe that they're in good company."

[–] Bonehead@kbin.social 33 points 2 years ago

There's making fun of people, and then there's just playing up long disproven stereotypes as a way of being insulting. If blackface is insulting, so is pretending to be trans on stage and telling imaginary prisoners to suck your girl dick.

[–] bermuda@beehaw.org 30 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Sure, but do comedians do multiple netflix specials filled with mocking one group of people? I'd say his material is pretty trash if he has to stoop to this repeatedly.

[–] sar1n@infosec.pub 27 points 2 years ago

This is the shittiest take on this website

[–] rgb3x3@beehaw.org 20 points 2 years ago (1 children)

The problem is that he's constantly making fun of the trans community and is now doing it specifically because it makes them angry. It's not good comedy when the people you're making fun of aren't laughing too.

The other problem is that he's playing the victim while doing it. He's claimed that he's being cancelled for what he's said and whines about it in every new special. And yet, he keeps getting specials.

I used to love his comedy, but this constant attack on Trans people, an already marginalized group, is unfunny and in very poor taste.

[–] frog@beehaw.org 11 points 2 years ago

It’s not good comedy when the people you’re making fun of aren’t laughing too.

This is where I draw the line between comedians like Dave Chappelle and, say, Jimmy Carr. It's fair to say Jimmy Carr isn't everybody's cup of tea, because his jokes can be really dark and really offensive - but he pokes fun at everybody, not just one specific group, and he can take it when someone pokes back.

When a comedian makes fun of everybody, and sees the humour when others make fun of them, it gives the sense there's no real hatred or malice there, and that makes it better comedy than when the jokes come from a place of real bigotry.

[–] tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Okay sure, but by mocking and dehumanizing trans people he encourages violence against them which is already a massive issue for trans people. But I love comedy, other than bigoted it's just lazy and played out and comes across like an old dude mad at scary new changes in society.

[–] Omega_Haxors@lemmy.ml 14 points 2 years ago

Translation: "I'm white and passively support every genocide because it isn't targeted at me. I would have been OK with with the holocaust."

[–] lntl@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

this