In a recent interview with NPR, comedian Dave Chappelle slammed the Republican Party, calling for what he described as “weaponising” his transgender jokes.
He expressed resentment that they politicized his comedy material for their agenda, which he said wasn’t his intent. According to the interview published in NPR, the 52 year old said:
“I did resent that the Republican Party ran on transgender jokes. I felt like they were doing a weaponized version of what I was doing. That’s not what I was doing.”
Chappelle’s NPR interview reportedly aired on the outlet’s newsmakers podcast on April 15 and was hosted by Michel Martin. The interview was held at the newly renovated WYSO radio station in Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Chappelle is a stand-up comedian, actor and writer known for his sharp social commentary and boundary-pushing humor. He rose to fame with his sketch series Chappelle’s Show on Comedy Central that aired from 2003 to 2006.
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Dave Chappelle calls out Lauren Boebert over an incident on Capitol Hill
During his recent NPR interview, Dave Chappelle explained his resentment with the Republican Party with an anecdote from his November 2023 Capitol Hill visit ahead of his performance at the Capitol One Arena in Washington.
He described meeting the Congressional Black Caucus and posing for photos with various lawmakers. He said that he didn’t involve politics at that time and took pictures politely. He then recalled that he had already taken at least 40 pictures and didn’t want to refuse Representative Lauren Boebert, who requested a selfie with him and Representative Anna Pauline Luna.
Dave Chappelle told the interviewer that he agreed, as he “didn’t know the phrase ‘I respectfully decline.”” He then added that Boebert shared the picture on social media, referencing it to his trans-related comedy. He said:
“So I just took the picture. And then she posted a picture, before I could even get from there to the show, and said something to the effect of, just two people that knew that it’s just two genders. She instantly, like, weaponized it or politicized it.”
According to a People magazine report, Boebert captioned the photo:
“Just three people who understand that there’s only two genders.”
Chappelle said that he later sharply criticized Boebert onstage during his December 2023 stand-up set by roasting her hard with a humorous takedown right in front of the audience. He told in his NPR interview:
“So I got to the arena, and I lit her a** up for doing that. She should never do that to a person like me. You do whatever it is you do, but don’t — get me out of the splash zone.”
Boebert referenced her social media post to Dave Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix special, The Closer, in which the comedian made jokes about trans people. He received intense backlash from Netflix employees, with trans and LGBTQ+ staff criticizing the content as “punching down” and harmful. Critics argued that Chappelle used his platform to target a marginalized group.
In response to Chappelle’s Netflix special, GLAAD labeled it the “most disrespectful” toward trans people yet, through a post shared on X in October 2021. It read:
“Dave Chappelle’s brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities. Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don’t support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree.”
While trans comedians like those interviewed by CNN called out Chappelle for “scapegoating trans people.” Some of them have been admirers of the comedian but felt that his content has shifted towards something “meaner, more dated and less impactful.”
Edited by Aastha Dass