Backlash Against Netflix and Dave Chappelle Intensifies Following Premiere of 'The Closer'

GLAAD, The National Black Justice Coalition, and a Dear White People executive producer are calling on Netflix to remove the latest Dave Chappelle stand-up special.

Just days after the premiere of the new Dave Chappelle stand-up special, both Netflix and the comedian are getting hit from all angles. The backlash against The Closer, Chappelle's sixth and final special for the streamer, was immediate. But it has only intensified in the days since the set went live.

Earlier this week, viewers and critics blasted the comedian for an observation about DaBaby's recent homophobic comments in light of a 2018 incident in which the rapper shot and killed a man in a North Carolina Walmart. And now, GLAAD, The National Black Justice Coalition, and Dear White People executive producer, Jaclyn Moore, are calling on the streamer to pull the special altogether for doubling down on transphobic sentiments expressed throughout his run on Netflix.

"Dave Chappelle's brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities. Negative reviews and viewers loudly condemning his latest special is a message to the industry that audiences don't support platforming anti-LGBTQ diatribes. We agree," wrote GLAAD in a retweet of an NPR review of The Closer. David Johns, executive director of the NBJC, issued a statement on the special on behalf of the organization."With 2021 on track to be the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States — the majority of whom are Black transgender people — Netflix should know better. Perpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence," Johns wrote. "Netflix should immediately pull The Closer from its platform and directly apologize to the transgender community," he added.

Moore, whose transition story was featured in Dear White People, is refusing to work with Netflix again unless the special comes down. "I love so many of the people I've worked with at Netflix. Brilliant people and executives who have been collaborative and fought for important art... But I've been thrown against walls because, 'I'm not a 'real' woman.' I've had beer bottles thrown at me. So, Netflix, I'm done," they wrote in a series of tweets on Wednesday. 

Reps for Chappelle and Netflix have yet to respond. You can read through some of the responses to The Closer below.