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Jay-Z defends Dave Chappelle and calls him a ‘genius’

"True art must cause conversation"

By Jamie Tabberer

Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Wiki

Jay-Z has called Dave Chappelle a “super genius” following controversy over the comic’s jokes about trans people in his Netflix show The Closer last month.

In the comedy special, A Star Is Born actor Chappelle said: “I’m team TERF [trans-exclusionary radical feminist].”

He added: “Gender is a fact. Every human being in this room, every human being on Earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on Earth. This is a fact.”

“I watch him sometimes and I’m like: ‘Ulgh!'”

Speaking as part of a Twitter Spaces Q&A last Friday [5 November], ’99 Problems’ rapper Jay-Z said [as per ET Canada]: “[Chappelle] is super brave and super genius. If you spend time with him, he’s brilliant.

“You know, I think he pushed a lot of buttons. I watch him sometimes and I’m like: ‘Ulgh!'”

Beyonce’s husband added: “But I think what happens with true art is it has to cause a conversation and sometimes it’s going to be abrasive, sometimes it’s going to be off-putting to folks, but I think it opens up an opportunity to have a dialogue no matter what the issue is.”

Controversy around The Closer led to a walkout at Netflix by employees who are trans and their allies. At least 1,000 employees took part in the protest on 20 October.

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos issued company-wide memos about the row, which he later said “lacked humanity”, adding: “I screwed up.”

In one of the messages to staff, he said: “We understand that the concern is not about offensive-to-some content, but titles which could increase real-world harm… While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.”

Chappelle later responded to the backlash by posting video footage of himself at a gig saying: “It was said in the press that I was invited to speak to the transgender employees of Netflix, and I refused.

“That is not true. If they had invited me, I would have accepted it. Although I am confused about what we are speaking about. I said what I said and boy, I heard what you said. My god, how could I not?

“You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. Well, it seems like I’m the only one who can’t go into the office anymore.

“I want everyone in this audience to know that even though the media frames this as me versus that community, that’s not what it is. Do not blame the LGBTQ community for any of this s**t. This has nothing to do with them, it’s about corporate interests, and what I can say and cannot say.

“For the record, and I need you to know this, everyone I know from that community has been nothing but loving and supporting. So, I don’t know what all this nonsense is about.”