Netflix has caught a lot of heat this week for its decision to release Dave Chappelle’s latest standup special The Closer, which has sparked controversy for its transphobic humor. On Wednesday, the streaming service’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos sent a memo to his staff explaining the company’s decision to not pull the special despite protests.
“Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse — or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy — without it causing them to harm others,” Sarandos wrote in the memo, as revealed by Variety. “We are working hard to ensure marginalized communities aren’t defined by a single story. So we have Sex Education, Orange is the New Black, Control Z, Hannah Gadsby and Dave Chappelle all on Netflix. Key to this is increasing diversity on the content team itself.”
Gadsby, whose standup specials Nanette and Douglas are both on Netflix, did not take too kindly to being included in Sarandos’ defense, and she posted an open letter to him on her Instagram page calling him out.
“Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess,” Gadsby wrote. “Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial word view.”
“You didn’t pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted,” she continued. “Fuck you and your amoral algorithm cult… I do shits with more back bone than you. That’s just a joke! I definitely didn’t cross a line because there isn’t one.”
More Like This
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
