Comedian Michelle Buteau accused Dave Chappelle of making money with “unfunny” and “dangerous” jokes about the transgender community during his successful Netflix special.
Buteau hosts her own comedy special, “Michelle Buteau: A Beautiful Heart at Radio City Music Hall,” which premiered on Netflix on Tuesday. During the act, she made an explicit joke about her “beautiful black lesbian friend,” which she claimed was an example of a respectful reference to the LGBTQ community.
“What I'm saying is, it can be done. It's possible. We can tell jokes and stories, but we can't disrespect the entire community,” Buteau said. “We can do it, and we can make it funny. We just have to try, right?”
“So, if you guys meet Dave Chappelle, could you please tell him? I don't think he knows about it.”
Michelle Buteau calls out Dave Chappelle in her latest feature, “Michelle Buteau: A Buteauful Heart at Radio City Music Hall.'' (© 2020 Netflix, Inc.)
“I don't think I'll ever meet Dave because he's the GOAT. And if that means 'making a fuss about transgender things,' he's the GOAT.
“Dave, this isn't fun. It's dangerous,” she continued. “I can't believe there are people who make millions of dollars by making people feel unsafe. That's just incredible to me.”
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Buteau declared, “Tonight I state this: This is a takeover of Radio City Music Hall, and millions of dollars have been spent to make sure people feel safe, seen, and heard.'' I’m going to tell everyone I want to make money.’ And I had fun. ”
speaks to USA Today Buteau also addressed Chappelle's comments in the feature, emphasizing the importance of supporting the community.
Michel Buteau criticized Chappelle's jokes, calling them “unfunny” and “dangerous.” (Photo Credit: Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty Images | Photo Credit: Shannon Finney/Getty Images)
“I'm not saying you shouldn't say things. I'm just saying, 'Can you make it funny?' Because that's not funny,” Buteau said. added. “You're hurting people and putting them at risk. And it's not just Chappelle, it's part of the culture that I don't understand.
“When people say, 'We can't do what we used to do,' yes, slavery used to be legal, guys, sometimes you have to move on, and I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but… Don't worry about that.”
In 2021, Chappelle clashed with leftists over a transgender joke in his Netflix special “The Closer.” Trans activists called on Netflix to cancel the show, and a small group of Netflix employees also went on strike in protest.
In 2023, he continued to make jokes about transgender people in the feature “The Dreamer,” where he talked about visiting Jim Carrey on the set of the 1999 film “The Man on the Moon.”
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Comedian Dave Chappelle has come under fire from liberals for years over his jokes about the transgender community. (Photo by Jeremy Safer)
Carrey took a “method” approach to portraying real-life comedian Andy Kaufman, always in character, and Chappelle was told by staff to call him “Andy” when he met Carrey.
“I had to pretend all afternoon that I wasn't Andy Kaufman because I wanted to meet Jim Carrey. And he was clearly Jim Carrey. If you look at him, you know he's Jim Carrey. I realized that,” he said. “Anyway, the reason I'm saying all this is that transgender people make me feel that way.”
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FOX News' Kristin Parks contributed to this report.
