Michelle Buteau took aim at Dave Chappelle for his past jokes at the expense of the Trans community.
In her latest Netflix comedy special, Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall, she explained why Chappelle’s humor is “dangerous.”
“We can tell jokes and stories and not disparage a whole community,” Buteau said. “We can make it funny, we just have to work at it.”
“If you guys ever run into Dave Chappelle, can you let him know that sh*t? I don’t think he knows that sh*t. I don’t think we’ll ever run into Dave, though, because he is the GOAT, and that means going off about trans people,” she continued. Dave, it’s not funny. It’s dangerous.”
Buteau went on to say that with Chappelle’s wealth, he should not try to get laughs while oppressed people suffer.
“I can’t believe someone would make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel unsafe,” she said. “That is so wild to me. I wanna make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel safe, seen, secure, heard, and entertained. What are we doing? That is my goal.”
Released in 2021, Chappelle’s Netflix special “The Closer” drew immediate outrage with protests and walkouts from Netflix employees. He was accused of constantly targeting trans people in his routine.
Not only does she call out Chappelle, but Buteau made history as the first woman to film a comedy special at Radio City.
In an interview with USA Today, the Survival of the Thickest actress detailed how the special came to fruition.
“I never asked my team, ‘Can I do this?’” Buteau said. “I was like, ‘How can you help me do this?’ I don’t want to hear ‘can’t.’ It’s insane. How do you exist as a Black, brown, queer, or fat person? You just do. Stop listening to people who want to keep you down.”
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