Michelle Buteau blasts Dave Chappelle for anti-trans jokes in Netflix special
Michelle Buteau isn’t laughing.
The comedian blasted Dave Chappelle for frequently making jokes about the transgender community during a set in her new Netflix comedy special “Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall,” which was released on Tuesday.
Buteau, 47, brought up Chappelle after sharing an anecdote about a “Black lesbian friend” of hers.
Some in the audience laughed at the story, while others appeared uncomfortable. Buteau drew attention to the diversity of those reactions, saying that comedians should be able “to tell jokes and stories and not disparage a whole community.”
“We can do that. We can make it funny,” Buteau told the crowd. “We just have to work at it, right?”
Turning to Chappelle, she said, “So, if you ever run into Dave Chappelle can you let him know that s–t?”
“I don’t think he knows that s–t.”
Jokingly referring to Chappelle as “the GOAT,” which typically abbreviates the moniker “greatest of all time,” Buteau said that where he’s concerned, “GOAT” actually stands for “going off on trans people.”
“Dave, it’s not funny. It’s dangerous,” she said to applause. “Make it funny.”
“I can’t believe somebody would make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel unsafe. That is so wild to me, truly.”
“I’m manifesting this s–t tonight,” she went on. “This is a Radio City Music Hall takeover, and I’m gonna tell everybody I wanna make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel safe, seen, secure, heard and entertained.”
Buteau elaborated on her feelings toward Chappelle in an interview with USA Today, published on Tuesday.
“I’m not saying you can’t say things — I’m just saying, ‘Can you make it funny?’ Because it doesn’t feel funny,” Buteau told the outlet. “You’re hurting people and you’re making it dangerous.”
“And it’s not just Chappelle — it’s part of the culture that I don’t understand,” she continued. “When people say, ‘We can’t do what we used to do.’ Yeah! Slavery used to be legal, you guys. Sometimes we’ve got to move forward, and I’m sorry if it’s different, but wrap your little mind around it.”
Chappelle came under fire after he made jokes about the transgender community in his 2021 Netflix comedy special “The Closer,” which was seen by many as being transphobic.
Undeterred, the comedian refused to apologize and even doubled down on his comments in his 2023 special for the streaming giant, “The Dreamer.”
