Stupid Response to Dave Chappelle Hosting Saturday Night Live: Comedians Can’t Take a Joke
Since it has fallen so far from its heyday, the only time that people pay attention to Saturday Night Live these days is when the show has a prominent guest host, when a non-woke skit that is truly funny gets viral on the internet, or when it is involved in some kind of scandal.
This week, the second and third options are in play. The enormously popular and anti-woke comedian Dave Chappelle will host this week’s episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL), and the announcement of Chappelle’s hosting role has prompted criticism. The backlash was extremely, ridiculously foolish.
According to Page Six, the anger is also coming from inside the house, with some SNL writers reportedly boycotting the episode and refusing to work on it. This information comes from a report that was published by Page Six. Celeste Yim, a writer for Saturday Night Live, seems to hint that she would be participating in this boycott by tweeting the following after the news was made: “I’m trans and non-binary. The pronouns they and them are what I use. The hatred of transgender people is a form of murder, and it must be denounced. (I suppose “they” aren’t able to laugh at themselves.)
Innumerable additional people on social media voiced their disapproval of Chappelle’s presence on SNL:
The earlier comments that Chappelle has made against the LGBT community, whom he has affectionately referred to as the “alphabet people,” and especially the gags that he has made about transgender individuals, are at the root of the controversy surrounding the possibility of Chappelle presenting the show. His detractors believe that the jokes he has told on transgender and gender identity issues are examples of bigotry and hatred.
However, they are only humorous in nature.
Although it was offensive and shocking, Chappelle’s part in which he compared the genitalia of transgender women, who are born biologically male, to the genitalia of the Impossible Burger was not any more offensive or shocking than the jokes he delivered at the expense of virtually every other group. Although many of the methods in which he continued to poke at the taboo subject of transgender people were daring and provocative, he was not coming from a place of hatred when he did so.
Is it possible that Dave Chappelle is actually “transphobic”? If by that you mean actually nasty toward transgender people, then the answer is obviously no when you analyse his comedy in its entire context, rather than taking portions uttered in jest at face value. If by that you mean genuinely offensive to transgender people, then the answer is definitely yes.
According to reports, the writers who are refusing to contribute to Chappelle’s programme are doing so for no valid reason. Because of this, the attempt to silence someone they disapprove of is both obnoxious and unliberal. And it’s a shame, because they could plainly learn a lot from Chappelle about how to make a joke (and how to accept a joke), making it a squandered opportunity.
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