Comedian Dave Chappelle is no conservative, but lately he’s finding his politically incorrect brand of humor is not making some liberals roll in the aisles laughing, while conservative culture observers are cheering him.
Basing its criticism on reporting from two reviews — one by Vulture, one by The New York Times — of Mr. Chappelle’s comedy set Tuesday at Radio City Music Hall, feminist website Jezebel on Wednesday blasted the African-American comedian as “transphobic.”
The 43-year-old Washington, D.C., native’s “out-of-touch” humor is the product of “an old, grouchy man,” Jezebel complained, concluding that his brand of humor is “a g—d—n disappointment.”
Other liberal-leaning websites, such as BuzzFeed, have previously taken Mr. Chappelle to task over similar transgender jokes in his recent Netflix comedy specials.
“He still could have been funny and irreverent without reducing our existence to playing dress-up,” Tiq Milan, a transgender man and LGBT activist wrote in March for the website. “With allies like this, we don’t need enemies.”
By contrast, conservative-leaning sites like The Federalist have been lining up to Mr. Chappelle’s defense, publishing a piece in April titled “Dave Chappelle’s ’Age Of Spin’ Is Pitched Perfectly At Outrage Culture.”
“[O]ur society won’t take a long hard look at gender dysphoria, or question the wisdom of people, including kids, modifying their bodies to become the gender they feel like,” David Marcus wrote in his Federalist piece. “Instead, we decide trans people are oppressed, and we must believe whatever they say.”
“Chappelle is arguing for the value of the examined life, over adherence to the latest dogma.”
For its part, Vulture’s review of Tuesday’s show declined to make political or ethical judgments about Mr. Chappelle’s comedy, simply arguing he was not as funny as he should have been for the venue he was at and the ticket prices he was commanding.
“Chappelle didn’t come off as a free-speech fire starter or an inflammatory punk trying to get a rise out of people,” wrote Vulture reviewer Jesse David Fox. “He just sounded old and out of touch, a fact that he touched on very briefly throughout the set, but not enough.”
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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