Dave Chappelle.
The first comedian to be featured will beEarthquakefor his special,Earthquake: Legendary.That special will premiere on the platform on Feb. 28. A second episode, which will feature comedianDonnell Rawlings, has yet to receive a release date.
The other two comics, who “have been in the comedy game for over 30 years,” per Netflix, have yet to be announced.
“I’ve been doing this a long time and comedians like Quake and Donnell are not only friends but have inspired my own career. Anyone in the comedy community knows these names and knows their time to shine is long overdue,” Chappelle said in a statement. “I am proud to be a part of this moment.”
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Dave Chappelle.Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Last year, Netflix released Chappelle’sThe Closer, in which the comedian made several jokes that targeted the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people. The streamerquickly faced mounting criticismfrom viewers and employees over providing a platform for anti-LGBTQ views.
Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos initiallyexpressed support for Chappelle, tellingVarietyat the time that they “work hard to support their creative freedom — even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful.”
Sarandos later followed up his statement, saying that he “screwed up” his response to the issue. “First and foremost, I should have led with a lot more humanity,” Sarandos toldVarietyin a separate statement.
“Meaning, I had a group of employees who were definitely feeling pain and hurt from a decision we made,” he added. “And I think that needs to be acknowledged up front before you get into the nuts and bolts of anything. I didn’t do that.”
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“It was said in the press that I was invited to speak to the transgender employees of Netflix and I refused. That is not true,” he said in a videoposted on Instagramin October.
“If they invited me, I would have accepted it, although I’m confused about what we’re speaking about,” he continued. “I said what I said. And, boy, I heard what you said. My god, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. Well, it seems like I’m the only one that can’t go to the office anymore.”
Chappelle added that he doesn’t “blame” the LGBTQ community for the controversy, claiming that “it’s about corporate interest.”
He said, “For the record, and I need you to know this, everyone I know from that community has been nothing but loving and supporting. So I don’t know what all this nonsense is about.”
source: people.com
