LGBTQ activists have slammed the comedian over his controversial comedy special called 'The Closer' where he made it clear that he supported 'gender' and sided with J.K. Rowling.

• Oct 8, 2021

AceShowbiz - Transgender activists are urging Netflix bosses to pull Dave Chappelle's latest comedy special, insisting he ridicules trans people and the LGBTQ+ community as a whole.

The funnyman, who addresses his war with transgender men and women throughout "The Closer", has upset officials at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the National Black Justice Coalition once again with his remarks.

At one point, he sides with "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, who became a target of activists last year (20) after offering up her controversial views on transgender women, stating, "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. That is a fact."

Chappelle states he is "Team TERF" - the acronym for trans-exclusionary radical feminist - and raised eyebrows by suggesting the blood in transgender women's vaginas is "beet juice."

The new special, which debuted on Tuesday (05Oct21), was too much for officials at GLAAD, who retweeted a post from HolyBullies, which read, "I would suggest, Mr. Chappelle, that before you start on another one of your stupid routines about #LGBTQ people... google some names - Bayard Rustin, Monica Roberts, Barbara Jordan, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Angela Davis, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde."

All those mentioned are late black gay and transgender rights activists, lesbians, and bisexuals.

Meanwhile, the executive director of civil rights group the National Black Justice Coalition called on Netflix bosses to pull "The Closer".

"It is deeply disappointing that Netflix allowed Dave Chappelle's lazy and hostile transphobia and homophobia to air on its platform," David Johns tells Deadline.

"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."

"Netflix should immediately pull The Closer from its platform and directly apologize to the transgender community."

Ironically, Chappelle ends his new special with a message to his fiercest transgender critics, who insist the comedian is transphobic, stating, "I am not telling another joke about you until we are both sure that we are laughing together. All I ask from your community, with all humility... will you please stop punching down on my people?"

His plea references a past comment piece on the comic that clearly struck a nerve, in which an activist accused Chappelle of "punching down" on the transgender community.

Despite the backlash, his new special has raced to the top five on Netflix's list of the most popular films and series on the platform in the U.S.