The Guy List: Dave Chappelle
By The Editors
The Guy List: Dave Chappelle

5Why he’s one of us:

Because he’s a rare and gifted truth-teller, which makes him more important today than ever, as we report in Guy Shepherd’s PM story called “Dave Chappelle Lives to Fight Another Day“:

Chappelle’s defense of the genre and craft of comedy and the comedian—and its role in a free and pluralistic society—is spot on.  The comedian is the canary in democracy’s coal mine.  The toxic air of ideological totalitarianism is choking our culture and public discourse.  And most importantly, it’s killing comedy.  Fortunately for comedy’s sake, Chappelle is not an eat-me-last type of guy.

“Chappelle does not deny another human being’s experience and the right to pursue and follow his or her muse.  You don’t like your sex? Feel free to change it.  As long as you don’t hurt other people, have it.  That is your right.”

– Guy Shepherd

About that feud between Chappelle and the transgender community:

We’re calling bullshit on that. And if you look at what Chappelle said in his 2017 Netflix special, “Equanimity,” we think you’ll agree he’s on the right side of this:

“I asked myself a very basic question that I don’t think I ever directly contemplated. I said, ‘Man, if you’re writing all these jokes, do you have a problem with transgender people?’ And the answer is, ‘Absolutely not.’  What the fuck do you guys think I am? I don’t understand all the choices that people make, but I do understand that life is hard and that those types of choices do not disqualify you from a life with dignity and happiness and safety.”

Why the battles Chappelle fights really matter:

Again, we look to Guy Shepherd and his recent PM story:

“Chappelle does not deny another human being’s experience and the right to pursue and follow his or her muse.  You don’t like your sex? Feel free to change it.  As long as you don’t hurt other people, have it.  That is your right. What is not your right its to make everyone else bend a knee to your beliefs and pay for it.  This is the ground from which Chappelle pushes back—and in doing so,  he is on the side not just of comedy but truth as well.  Tyranny in the name of minority is still tyranny.”

And in the same story, Guy quotes Andrew Sullivan, who we profile here:

“The Closer is, in fact, a humanely brilliant indictment of elite culture at this moment in time: a brutal exposure of its identitarian monomania, its denial of reality, and its ruthless tactics of personal and public destruction. It marks a real moment: a punching up against the powerful, especially those who pretend they aren’t.” 

For context, here are just a few of the honors and awards Chappelle has received:

  • Three consecutive Grammy Awards for best comedy album
  • Five Primetime Emmy Awards and six additional nominations
  • The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor

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