Comedian Hannah Gadsby recently revealed that they chose to not address their feud with Dave Chapelle in their new special because they find the comedian “boring”.
Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby has never shied away from expressing their disdain for Dave Chappelle’s penchant for transphobic and anti-LGBTQ+ jokes.
However, unlike Chappelle, Gadsby chose not to address their beef in their latest Netflix special, “Something Special.”
In a recent interview with Variety, Gadsby shares their reasoning for this decision, shedding light on why they opted not to confront Chappelle’s “toxic perspective.”
They admit to Variety that while Chapelle’s remarks had been on their mind, they ultimately just find him “boring”.
“My audience likes me because they don’t like the usual toxic perspective, and to talk about him would be to center his conversation—and I just don’t want that voice to be dictating how I approach my work,” Gadsby said.
“I didn’t think he said anything that I was interested in, and that’s what I would have to do in order to talk about Dave Chappelle—I would have to begin with Dave Chappelle, and I don’t want to.”
History of the Chapelle/Gadsby feud
Over the past few years, Dave Chappelle has been quite vocal about his opinion of Hannah Gadsby’s brand of comedy.
The feud originated with Gadsby calling out Chapelle for making transphobic jokes in his comedy special, The Closer.
Gadsby criticized Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos in a fiery Instagram post for his explanation as to why “The Closer” would remain on the platform.
The letter drew attention to the “real-world consequences” of the hate speech Chappelle’s jokes perpetuated, bluntly telling the CEO, “f*ck you and your amoral algorithm cult.”
Chappelle then aimed his sights at Gadsby, calling the comedian “not funny”.
No hope for an open discussion
As to whether Gadsby sees themselves engaging with Chapelle in the future? Not likely.
“There could be a really interesting conversation between [Chappelle and me].” They say.
However, they’re not betting on it: “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” they said. “I don’t think there’s good faith on his part.”
“He’s done three specials grinding down on the same points without any change in nuance, so I just think he’s on his track,” they said.
“Good on him. That is not my track. And I’m not going to go out of my way to engage with that.
“And I think there’s something also quite political about a genderqueer performer expressing joy onstage.”
See also: ‘I am proof that the damage done can be overcome’, says Hannah Gadsby
See also: Hannah Gadsby and wife Jenney had a wild novelty wedding cake
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