Dave Chappelle responded to the controversy over his Netflix stand-up
special The Closer, which has been criticised as
promoting bigotry toward transgender people – by posting a 5-minute video clip to Instagram on Monday in which he denied he had been invited to speak to transgender employees of the streaming service and refused.
“That is not true,” he said in the video, which was taken during a weekend performance in Nashville, Tennessee. “If they had invited me,
I would have accepted. Although I am confused about what we would be speaking about. I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. It seems like I’m the only one who can’t go to the office anymore.”
The controversy over Chappelle’s special has put Netflix at the centre of a conversation involving transphobia, free speech and employee activism. Last week, a group of Netflix employees in Los Angeles staged a walkout.
