Comedian Dave Chappelle has always pushed the envelope with his comedy but some say he went too far in a recently released Netflix stand-up special "The Closer," where he devoted about a third of his set to jokes about transgender people and the LGBTQ community.

Now, the 48-year-old comedian and Netflix are facing sharp backlash from critics who believe Chappelle crossed a line with comments that they say are offensive and "dangerously transphobic."

This wasn't the first time Chappelle or Netflix were confronted over controversial material. Netflix was accused of promoting teen suicide and self-harm with its drama series "13 Reasons Why." The streaming service was also attacked for its production of "Cuties," a 2020 coming-of-age film, which critics said oversexualized young girls and promoted pedophilia, as well as the 2020 film "365 Days," which was denounced for glorifying rape and sex trafficking.

Chappelle, who became famous for his edgy comedy, has also faced criticism in recent years for jokes about LGBTQ and transgender people. He pushed the issue further in his latest show, acknowledging, "They've canceled people that are more powerful than me."

The comedian defended his record and refused to apologize. He admitted to punching a lesbian at a bar, described gender as "a fact," aligned himself with "trans-exclusionary radical feminists," and doubled down on past transgender and LGBTQ jokes. Some of Chappelle's fans took to social media to declare the comedian "uncancellable."

Since the comedy special was released Oct. 5, Netflix has been putting out fires internally and externally. LGBTQ activists and Netflix employees have condemned the streaming giant and the comedian, demanding the show be removed for potentially causing harm.

In a memo circulated among employees, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended Chappelle's "artistic freedom," and the decision to air the show, while acknowledging there would be pushback from people in and around the company.

"Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don’t allow titles Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe 'The Closer' crosses that line," Sarandos said, according to a copy of the memo obtained by Variety.

Sarandos cited Chappelle's popularity in saying the program would not be pulled from the streaming site. It is currently trending among Netflix's top 10. He wrote that Chappelle's last controversial special, "Sticks and Stones," was "our most watched, stickiest and most award winning stand-up special to date."

LA Times cultural critic Mary McNamara slammed the Sarandos memo as a "masterclass in gaslighting." McNamara argued that the Netflix CEO's defense of Chappelle was a cynical tactic. "Netflix should just say what it means: inclusion is great but money is better."

Disagreement over Netflix's handling of the situation prompted several of the streaming service's transgender employees to announce an Oct. 20 walkout, The Verge first reported.

The company's Trans Employee Resource Group issued an organizing statement claiming that Netflix had failed its mission by "repeatedly releasing content that harms the Trans community and continually failing to create content that represents and uplifts Trans content. We can and must do better!"

The walkout was planned after Netflix suspended then reinstated three of its employees who reportedly crashed the company's quarterly business review meeting to protest the Chappelle special.

One of the people suspended was a senior software engineer, Terra Field, who is also transgender. Before her suspension, Field took to social media to criticize Netflix for airing "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."

The special also prompted a senior writer on the Netflix show "Dear White People" to announce she was cutting ties with the streaming network "as long as they continue to put out and profit from blatantly and dangerously transphobic content." Jaclyn Moore is an out trans person who shared her transition story during Netflix's pride week.

Chappelle, who focuses much of his comedy around race, frequently compared the plight of Black people to the transgender and LGBTQ community. He joked that he was "jealous" of the LGBTQ community because of "how well that movement is going," compared to the fight for racial equality.

Preston Mitchum, with The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention group for young LGBTQ people, pushed back on Chappelle for minimizing the difficult conditions for trans people of color and "punching down" on the community.

"Holding Chappelle accountable and addressing harm caused is not about 'cancel culture,'" Mitchum wrote. "This is about understanding that comedians, like everyone else, should evolve beyond their tired jokes that could undoubtedly contribute to hate crimes and violence."

Chappelle's show was released at a time when at least 33 states have introduced anti-trans legislation. Violence against transgender people has also increased across the United States. According to Human Rights Watch, there were 44 fatalities in 2020 and at least 38 so far this year, largely targeting Black trans women.