Dave Chappelle Called out by Jerrod Carmichael Over Trans Jokes: 'That's The Legacy'

06/16/2022 11:30 pm EDT

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael called out Dave Chappelle for insisting on telling jokes about the transgender community, despite the backlash against it. Carmichael, who came out as gay in a recent HBO special, noted that Chappelle's recent controversial jokes are overshadowing his beloved past work. Chappelle has continued to tell jokes many consider transphobic, even after his Netflix special The Closer last year inspired Netflix employees to walk out of the company's Los Angeles headquarters.

In a new interview with GQ, Carmichael, 35, spoke about the response to his HBO special Rothaniel, in which he told his audience he is gay. He received a mixed response from his own family. His 15-year-old niece was the "only one" who acknowledged him coming out. He went on to say that he loves the younger generation. "I actually f— with them, and f— all those comedians that are going so hard against them," Carmichael said.

One of those comedians Carmichael is referring to is Chappelle. He understands that some comedians need a "boogeyman to sell tickets," but he insists many of their complaints are not true. Chappelle and other "grown men are fine," despite complaints about cancel culture. "I think, a lot of times, people who offer nothing truthful or meaningful about themselves then complain about society at large and create this boogeyman," Carmichael said. "It's like, listen, that's the most urgent thing in your life? God bless you. I'm tired of hearing it."

Carmichael then turned directly to Chappelle, asking the comedian if he realizes what comes up first when you Google his name now. "That's the legacy? Your legacy is a bunch of opinions on trans s—? It's an odd hill to die on," the Carmichael Show star said.

Carmichael then challenged Chappelle to take a more honest look at his life in his work. "It's like, hey, bro. Who the f— are you? Who do you f—? What do you like to do? Childish jokes aside, who the f— are you?" Carmichael told GQ. "It's just kind of played. But he's choosing to die on the hill. So, alright, let him."

Elsewhere in his GQ profile, Carmichael opened up about the importance of another Netflix star, Bo Burnham, in his life. Burnham, who had a hit with Inside on Netflix, directed Rothaniel and they are close friends. "He's the friend of my dreams, in a way. I'm really happy that we found each other," Carmichael told GQ. "I trust him with my life, in all ways. And so a lot of the moments you see in Rothaniel, the reason I was able to go there is because he's directing. It's like my best friend's directing, and I can give everything. I don't have to hide anything, that I can take down any wall. He's the best friend you could ask for. He really protected me."

Since Chappelle began facing criticism for the jokes in The Closer, Netflix has been one of his biggest supporters. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos recently told the New York Times that he believes comedians need to cross "the line every once in a while" to learn where the line is. "I think it's very important to the American culture generally to have free expression," Sarandos said, admitting that Netflix is bound to have content not everyone will like. "We want something for everybody but everything's not going to be for everybody," the executive said.

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