Comedian Michelle Buteau lambasts Dave Chappelle’s anti-trans jokes

Comedian and actress Michelle Buteau has taken aim at Dave Chappelle’s anti-trans jokes, saying people don’t have to “disparage a whole community” to tell a funny story.

Chappelle has come under fire in recent years for jibes about the transgender community in his comedy specials, including Netflix’s The Closer in 2021, where he declared he was “team TERF” and made explicit jokes about trans women’s genitals. 

The Closer prompted employee walkouts and protests among Netflix staff and other artists who condemned his humour as not funny but harmful.

Chappelle has subsequently branded his critics “transgender lunatics” and told a sell-out crowd that he had been the victim of “cancel culture” – despite securing more Netflix shows.

Now, in her own Netflix special, Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall, the First Wives Club star had some choice words for him.

While telling a story about a Black lesbian friend, Buteau noted a mix of reactions in the audience with some people laughing and some appearing uncomfortable. “We can tell jokes and stories and not disparage a whole community,” she said. “We can do that. We can make it funny, we just have to work at it.

“So, if you ever run into Dave Chappelle, can you let him know that s**t? I don’t think he knows that s**t.”

She jokingly referred to him as “the goat.” Although this is usually an acronym for “greatest of all time”, in Chappelle’s case, Buteau said, it meant: “going off on trans people”.

She went on to say: “Dave, it’s not funny. It’s dangerous. Make it funny. I can’t believe somebody would make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel unsafe. That is so wild to me.

“I’m manifesting this s**t tonight. This is a Radio City Music Hall takeover, and I’m gonna tell everybody I wanna make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel safe, seen, secure, heard and entertained.”

In an interview with USA Today, published on the same day as the release of her Netflix special, Buteau expanded on her opinions.

“I’m not saying you can’t say things, I’m just saying: ‘Can you make it funny?’ Because it doesn’t feel funny. You’re hurting people and you’re making it dangerous.

“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… yeah, slavery used to be legal, you guys. Sometimes we’ve got to move forward. I’m sorry if it’s different but wrap your little mind around it.”