The special has received two nominations in total
Dave Chappelle’s controversial standup special, The Closer, has bagged two nominations for the 2022 Emmys.
Despite prompting anger upon its release for anti-trans jokes the comedian makes in the show, it has been nominated for best pre-recorded variety special, and for Stan Lathan in the variety special directing category.
In the variety special category, it is up against Adele’s One Night Only, Warner Bros. and HBO Max’s Harry Potter reunion, Norm Macdonald’s posthumous Netflix special Nothing Special, and Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s One Last Time.
The Closer was released on Netflix last October, but soon caused controversy for some of the comments and jokes Chappelle makes about trans people in the show.
The comedian labels himself as part of “team TERF” (trans exclusionary radical feminist) in the special and says that “gender is fact.”
This led to some workers at Netflix planning a walkout in protest against the special. There was also anger over the handling of the situation by co-CEO Ted Sarandos and comments he made in memos in which he argued that “content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm.”
He later apologised for this, but made clear that he would be keeping the special on the platform without any disclaimer or trigger warning.
Meanwhile Chappelle, who has won five Emmys, claimed he was a victim of cancel culture.
He has since been given handed four new comedy specials with the streaming platform, the first of which is due to be released in February.
Related links:
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- Maya Forstater: JK Rowling says harassed women ‘are safer’ after tax expert wins transgender tweets case
- Nadine Dorries continues deranged attacks on trans sportspeople
