Bigot or Brilliant: Why I Champion Chappelle’s Comedy
By: Solomon Hillfleet
Tags: Takeaways, Comedy, TV, Race, Entertainment

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

To say that people are upset would be a gross understatement. In all of my 30 years, I have yet to witness a moment of public outrage across the board like this one. There wasn’t this much anger when Kanye West uttered his ill-fated thoughts at the TMZ headquarters and affectively severed his fading reputation with most of black America. Nor was there this much anger when scores of famous celebrities found themselves embroiled in sexual assault cases galore as time progressed. The ensuing scandals from black celebrities over the last few years have caused mini earthquakes on the Richter scale of anger from the black consensus, but none of these actions by and large have generated the anger that Dave Chappelle’s newest comedy special Sticks & Stones has over the last week and a half. A continuation of his last special, Dave takes aim at a number of issues most people let alone comedians dare to tackle, which include the cancel culture trend in our society as well as the increased scrutiny of people who don’t speak highly of the LGTBQ community. While the lines for many are clearly divided, I find myself straddling the fence for a number of reasons.

Disclaimer: I am a die-hard fan of Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy. I can appreciate the talent of Dave Chappelle but I am by no means a Stan.

First, I feel as if Dave’s decision to address the criticism he faced over his last documentary shows an artistic freedom that we must protect. Comedy used to be one of the few places where society by at large could be examined and also criticized. The blurred lines between being offensive and being introspective are what makes comedy a safe place for comics to express themselves. His fearlessness in tackling these issues and his decision to make light of people’s perception of his character is what we would praise any other entertainer for. For example,when people mistakenly assume that Serena is an aggressive black woman for her decision to be vocal on issues both on and off the court, we champion it because, in the end, she reserves the right to define herself. Obviously, the comparison I am making is tied to how public perception shapes the narrative for a person. Dave for all his problems reserves the right to say whether or not he is truly a bigot. For all intents and purpose, I believe he is a jerk moreso than a bigot. Nuisances are key.

However, I also know that artistic freedom comes responsibility. I don’t think that being brave about your art means that the art is good. I wouldn’t go as far as calling his comedy outdated in the way some people have, but I will say that the show was more shocking than funny. Alas, I am slightly biased, but I will give credit when it is due. The controversy has overshadowed the show itself and has led many to hastily proclaim it greatness without it going through the true test of time. Raw by Eddie Murphy is the greatest not only because of its numbers then but also because of how it stacks up now. Also, I think that whether people will admit it or not, there is an unspoken understanding that the jokes that he tells are only forgiven because of the cult-like status he obtained for the Chappelle show. To further explain my point, I will say this: We give people the ability to decide what’s ethical and right based on how much we personally like them, myself included. What we fail to acknowledge though is that just because it was said, doesn’t mean it was proper. It just means it was sanctioned. Nuisance once again.

While I will admit I think that the LGTBQ community has a legitimate reason to be upset, I take offense with people suggesting that if a person from this community did a special taking aim at black heterosexual men there would be uproar. I think that the statement fails to take into effect the sweeping changes our society is undergoing. We live in a time more than ever where people are forced to confront the miseducation they’ve been subjected to, a time where people are beginning to consciously shift their thinking to receive it, and a time where the new counter thought is to hold a different opinion about the LGTBQ community. Anything other than blatant acceptance is deemed bigotry. On one hand, the violence and hatred the LGTBQ community faces daily are reinforced by negative and hateful ideas. Contrastingly, how can we maintain a democracy when people’s right to express their views are limited and people are forced to be perfect in 140 characters or in a one hour special on Netflix?

Ultimately, I can see why people are angry. It’s justified. It’s not unlike the anger Richard Pryor and other comedians encountered during their day and time. Nor is it unlike the anger Tupac incurred from Dan Quayle and C Delores Tucker for their music and the violent messages they promoted. What I do know is there is a thin line between genius and insanity. We applaud whichever one favors us.