Comedian Dave Chappelle Refuses to Let NPR Reporter Shame Him for Trans Jokes
The woke madness of the last decade or so has produced only one salutary result.
In politics and culture, it has called forth many admirable examples of resistance to its authoritarian demands.
For instance, in a recent interview, comedian Dave Chappelle refused to apologize when NPR’s Michel Martin asked how he would respond to critics who accuse him of “punching down” by making jokes about transgender people.
Throughout the segment, Chappelle remained polite. In fact, at times, he tried to meet Martin on her own terms.
He argued, for instance, that the media misconstrued what he actually said during his comedy shows. Thus, in blaming the media, he chose not to attack Martin for what, undoubtedly, he regarded as a silly and shopworn criticism.
“They almost reported on it as if I was doing something other than a comedy show,” Chappelle said.
Of course, when Martin persisted in that line of questioning, Chappelle had no choice but to get to the heart of the matter.
“If you’re a person that is very angry or passionate about something, and you’re afraid that you’re gonna be misrepresented or misconstrued, and you feel like you have to police comedy to get your point across,” the comedian said, “you should assess your point.”
Indeed, for defenders of free speech, that comment about policing comedy qualified as a particularly quotable line.