The fourth season of "Talk Show Conference" came to an end, and while the audience was laughing, the show often triggered a clash of views, which may be a problem that such shows often need to face, and a talk show in the United States has recently been quarreled by the words of the show's main coffee. A stand-up comedian by well-known comedian Dave Chappelle offended the transgender community, sparked protests from some employees of streaming giant Netflix and exacerbated internal tensions at the company, highlighting the conflict between the company's "outright confession" culture and creative freedom. At least three employees were suspended for breaking into board-level meetings and then reinstated in response to outcry. A transgender employee group at Netflix also encouraged employees to go on strike on Oct. 20 to protest a recent speech by co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos at chappell.
Controversy over the talk show
In "The Closer," one of the most watched shows in the U.S., which aired last week, Chappell made it clear that he didn't like the transgender group and made a lot of jokes about transgender people. For example, he praised a transgender person for being "tricked" into being uncomfortable with a beautiful woman, comparing transgender people to white people with black faces, and comparing transgender people's genitals to plant meat. Chappell said that "gender is a fact" and said he considered himself a "TERF", a "radical feminist who rejects transgenderness" (writer J.K. Rowling was once accused of TRF by netizens for the "transphobic" dispute). "Someone told me, 'They won't let you go,' and I said, 'One of them or many of them?' ”
The day after the show aired, Terra Field, a transgender software engineer at Netflix, criticized the show on Twitter, saying Chappell had attacked the existence of transgender groups and transgender people. The tweet went viral and sparked a backlash within Netflix for the special show. LGBTQ rights advocacy group GLAD criticized: "Chappell's brand has become synonymous with deriding transgender people and other marginalized groups. "The National Black Justice League believes that fear of transgender people will perpetuate violence, and Netflix should immediately take the show off its platform and apologize to the transgender community."
Netflix is firmly on the side
On the 11th, Sarandos released an email throughout the company defending the program, saying that it would not be removed from the show. Sarandos said: "The company strives to support creative freedom, which means that there will always be something on Netflix that some people think is harmful... I don't think this episode will incite hatred or violence. However, I admit that it is difficult to distinguish between comment and hurt, especially for talk shows, which exist to break boundaries. Some people find the art of talk shows despicable, but our members love it and it's an important part of what we offer with our content. Chappell's special is Netflix's highest-rated, most engaging, and most awarded talk show special to date. Chappell has a long-standing relationship with Netflix, having produced three specials for the streaming service in 2016.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
In recent years, Netflix has made inclusion a priority, hiring a diversity and inclusion executive in 2018, taking initiatives to improve the status of representatives of different races and ethnicities in Hollywood, and has also revised or deleted programs in response to employee or public concerns. Last year, it pulled down the sketch series "Little Britain" because the show's white actors painted "blackface" while playing black characters; this month, it made changes to the hit show "Squid Game" to protect a phone number from harassment; and another TEEN-themed TV series, "13 Reasons Why," was revised to include resources for suicide prevention and trigger warnings.
According to employees familiar with the matter, this is not the first time Chappell's special program has caused outrage within Netflix. His previous stand-up comedy special, Sticks and Stones, also included commentary on LGBTQ community, which was considered offensive by some within the company, but his recent work has provoked a stronger reaction. Employees expressed disappointment that the company continued to release shows with homophobia, and while not asking Netflix to take down the special, they were tired of the company's unconditional support for Chappell and wanted to see more support for storytellers with different perspectives.
In the storm, Chappell finally publicly stated that he would no longer tell jokes about the LGBTQ community and begged them not to bother his people again. In the closing credits of The Closer, there is a photograph of Chappel laughing with Sarandos, and a snapshot of him and his friends amply shows that Chappell's audience is not men, women, or blacks, but wealthy celebrities. Chappell resented the possibility that they might need to face consequences for their actions. Netflix executives have promised to pay more attention to these issues in the future.
Where is the line of comedy offense
The American media pointed out that Chappell is not only a well-known talk show actor, but also a cultural force. He has won five Emmys, three Grammys, and the prestigious Mark Twain Award. His charm, like that of other popular comedians, comes from his ability to challenge society's sacrosanct contradictions and survive. For him, that means boldly dabbling in three areas we least want to discuss in the face of mixed crowds or children: sex, race, and politics. An old adage in comedy and politics suggests never attacking those with less power than you. But Chappell felt bad about that, arguing that LGBTQ people gained power, influence, and respect faster than blacks.
"It's just jokes", all the criticism is pre-set, and you are the problem when you object to anything a comedian says, you are the one who is narrow-minded, "vulnerable" or lacks a sense of humor. The New York Times commented that if there was anything wonderful about The Closer, it was Chappell's apparent and elegant rhetorical approach that dismissed any objection to his work as unreasonable. He's just "extremely honest", speaking out loud about the fact that no one is speaking out and making people think. But if the whole comedy scene is designed as a series of strategies to say whatever you want and keep yourself away from effective criticism, is that really creating comedy? Some commentators believe that these topics are too complicated to be handled easily just for the sake of being funny. The American writer Roxane Gay says it's a faded facsimile of the once-great comedian, who Chappell now uses his platform to vent his displeasure with those he despises while cleverly avoiding any responsibility.
News and image credits: TIME, TheVerge, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune
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