It’s the comedian’s first special for the streamer since 2021’s highly controversial ‘The Closer’

Dave Chappelle has released a new Netflix special, The Dreamer, which is full of jokes about the trans community and disabled people.

“I love punching down!” he tells the audience, in a one-hour show that landed on the streaming service today (31 December).

It’s his seventh special for Netflix and comes two years after his last one, the highly controversial release The Closer.

That programme was criticised for its relentless jokes about the trans community, and Chappelle revisits the topic in his new show.

He tells jokes about trans women in prison, and about trans people “pretending” to be somebody they are not.

  • kameecoding@lemmy.world
    1310·
    10 months ago

    Punching down is never funny

    clearly you have never slapped a dwarf

    on a serious note, you are wrong and your categorization is arbitrary, you are playing joke police.

    for example, Ricky Gervais had an entire bit about Caitlyn Jenner, is that punching up or punching down? because Ricky is more famous and maybe even more wealthy than Jenner and also a white male and also didn’t kill anyone with his car as far as I know, so that’s punching down right? or we is it punching up because we dislike Caitlyn Jenner for her pro-republican stance?

    • zbyte64@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      116·
      10 months ago

      It depends on what they’re making fun of in regards to the person. If he’s joking about her being trans, that is punching down. If he’s joking about her unchecked privileges, that is punching up. Think less about people’s identity and more about their needs and then you will get a sense of direction.

        • zbyte64@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          73·
          10 months ago

          Well the fun part about art is it is open to interpretation. If you laugh because “haha trans people are sexual deviants” then that’s rather shitty. If you laugh because “haha transphobic people sound like that” then you’re probably well adjusted. And if you know the context of Ricky Gervais and don’t laugh then you are well informed.

          • kameecoding@lemmy.world
            3·
            10 months ago

            Well for me I laugh because he points out that she killed someone and got away with it unscathed guess I am just weird at understanding the point of the joke…

    • Dkcecil91@lemmy.world
      22·
      10 months ago

      I personally don’t care for Gervais because he does shit like this and his face and voice make him unable to not be snide about it. He’s left a bad taste in my mouth for a while now.