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[BlakeK]

As I was watching the latest Dave Chappelle specials, it occurred to me that there probably would be some controversy. I have seen some feedback where people have spoken about one or both of the specials being offensive, especially to members of the LGBTQ community and supporters. What did you guys think about the material? I wanted to make a poll but it ended up sounding awkward. I decided to leave it up so feel free to vote and share your thoughts.

[manmagic]

Since I am not part of the LGBTQ community and further more since I am a whit male, in general my opinion comes from a level of privilege, but some of the best comedy, to me at least pushes the envelope of being offensive in nature. Like my previous statement implies, this may be because little if anything actually offends me. With that being said, I try to look for the intent behind the words. I could write more, but I feel like I may put my foot in my mouth if I do.

He has two more specials coming down the line I think? Will be interesting to see if anything changes or how those go, when they come out.

[BlakeK]

 I am really hoping that people who are part of the LGBTQ community will answer because it is easy for others to say "no, it's not offensive" when they aren't a part of the community (though may be supporters) that is the target of the joke.

EDIT: I was in a hurry and I completely missed the word "not" in your sentence about "not" being a member of the LGBTQ community. Stupid mistake. Sorry about that.

[Anna Karina]

Since I am not part of the LGBTQ community and further more since I am a whit male, in general my opinion comes from a level of privilege, but some of the best comedy, to me at least pushes the envelope of being offensive in nature. Like my previous statement implies, this may be because little if anything actually offends me. With that being said, I try to look for the intent behind the words. I could write more, but I feel like I may put my foot in my mouth if I do. 

I think the intent behind the trans stuff was hateful and regressive though. I also had a problem with all the weird rape jokes.

I enjoyed the standup well enough until the Bill Cosby/trans stuff took over. Though I also think the jokes were really lazy in general compared to his older standup.

[BlakeK]

Since I am not part of the LGBTQ community and further more since I am a whit male, in general my opinion comes from a level of privilege, but some of the best comedy, to me at least pushes the envelope of being offensive in nature. Like my previous statement implies, this may be because little if anything actually offends me. With that being said, I try to look for the intent behind the words. I could write more, but I feel like I may put my foot in my mouth if I do. 

I think the intent behind the trans stuff was hateful and regressive though. I also had a problem with all the weird rape jokes.

I enjoyed the standup well enough until the Bill Cosby/trans stuff took over. Though I also think the jokes were really lazy in general compared to his older standup.

Good points. It made me cringe a bit but was not as affected. Since I am such a big fan, I want to give him a pass so I know I'm biased and may be brushing it aside more than I should. I agree that he did seem lazy especially with the "gay super hero" bit. That is maybe the biggest the example that sticks in my mind of him making a joke that wasn't funny and just a tired stereotype. For some reason I wasn't as bothered by the Bill Cosby stuff because I think I understand where he's coming from with most of it. I would have liked him to be harsher on Cosby if he's going to talk about the conflict he feels and felt he was going too easy on him. I have a hard time getting a handle on the allegations of transphobia because I couldn't really tell what his actual opinions are versus what he was saying to be purposefully over the top. I can definitely understand why people would be offended though.

[Anna Karina]

I think his stance on it is the normal "I don't understand trans people and have a difficulty grasping the concept", which is fine and understandable, but propelling it into a joke where the punchline is essentially "I don't care what you wanna be called, that dude's dick is popping out!" shows where he's coming from. And his lead-up to that punchline seemed particularly insincere.

I know there's been a lot of hesitation regarding trans/gay issues particularly in the black community (issues regarding AIDS, etc in the 80s being a particularly touchy subject), but Chappelle's recent standup seems extremely regressive and already feels as dated as Eddie Murphy's aggressively homophobic standup from the 80s.

I'm eight beers deep on an empty stomach and I don't feel I'm articulating myself well. I'll try to articulate my points better in the morning.

[skateandannoy]

I thought you were doing fine Brett, I wouldn't have known haha. I refuse to watch any of his new stuff just to not give Netflix the analytics data. I suppose considering you can rate the material and could give it a low rating that's maybe even better than boycotting the special but I'm not trying to give any money, fame, clicks, or support to people with that attitude. Everything I've heard is precisely what you guys are saying that it's really regressive and offensive, and even if you can look at it objectively it overall isn't that good.