Michelle Buteau calls out Dave Chappelle for his anti-trans comments in new Netflix special: 'It's not funny, it's dangerous'

Michelle Buteau is done with Dave Chappelle's transphobic comments.

The comedian called out Chapelle in her new stand-up special, Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall, which hit Netflix on Tuesday. After telling jokes about her "Black lesbian friend," Buteau used the moment to slam Chapelle's history of anti-trans remarks in his sets.

"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 guys ever run into Dave Chappelle, can you let him know that s---? I don’t think he know that s---.”

Related: Bowen Yang addresses distancing himself from Dave Chappelle on Saturday Night Live stage: 'I was just confused'

The crowd cheered in response to Buteau's remarks, and she continued, calling Chapelle the GOAT. The acronym traditionally refers to "Greatest of All Time," but Buteau said, in this case, it stood for, "going off about trans people."

"Dave, it’s not funny," she added. "It’s dangerous. Make it funny."

Buteau then concluded her remarks on the matter by noting that she would always strive to do the opposite of Chapelle in her own comedy. "I can’t believe someone would make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel unsafe," she said. "That is so wild to me…I wanna make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel safe, seen, secure, heard, and entertained. That is my goal."

Related: Hannah Gadsby isn't interested in talking with Dave Chappelle after transgender jokes: 'It's a toxic place'

Chapelle first received criticism for his anti-trans jokes in his 2021 Netflix comedy special, The Closer. In the wake of the special's release, Netflix found itself at the center of a firestorm when three of its staffers were suspended after they made disparaging remarks about the special and the company on social media.

"I work at @netflix," engineer Terra Field wrote on Twitter. "Yesterday we launched another Chappelle special where he attacks the trans community, and the very validity of transness - all while trying to pit us against other marginalized groups. You're going to hear a lot of talk about 'offense'. We are not offended." In a subsequent tweet, she added, "What we object to is the harm that content like this does to the trans community (especially trans people of color) and VERY specifically Black trans women."

Related: Abbott Elementary's Janelle James calls Dave Chappelle's recent comedy specials 'boring'

Netflix stated that the suspensions were unrelated to the remarks, eventually reinstating the staffers. Netflix staffers also staged a walkout in protest of the special being given a platform on the service.

Still, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended Chapelle in a staff memo in the days following the fallout. "Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don't allow titles at Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don't believe The Closer crosses that line," he said. He added, "particularly in stand-up comedy, artistic freedom is obviously a very different standard of speech than we allow internally as the goals are different: entertaining people versus maintaining a respectful, productive workplace."

Related: Rachel Bloom and Michelle Buteau chat about their new memoirs, bullying, and dick jokes

Following the hubbub, Chapelle said he was "listening" and open to a dialogue. However, he doubled down on his remarks in his 2023 special, The Dreamer.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly