On today's episode of your fave is highly problematic, award-winning comedian Dave Chappelle is being called out once again for his well-documented use of transphobia in his stand up routines. On deck this time in an attempt to persuade Chappelle to inflict less harm on the trans community is season eight RuPaul's Drag Race Winner Bob The Drag Queen (We're Here, HBO).
During an interview with Justin Sylvester, host of the E! podcast Just the Sip, Bob called on Chappelle and everyone in the Black community, especially Black cis men to do more in support of their Black trans brothers and sisters.
"I do think the issue with trans lives—especially in the Black community doesn't necessarily lie within racism, but it does lie within prejudice and misogyny, specifically trans-misogyny," said Bob.
"And this is not just something for just the trans people to address, or just the queer people to address. Like, we need, in this world, cisgender, straight, Black men to stand up and say 'trans lives matter."
Related: George Lee voices support for Black trans women in an online debate with Chef Roble.
Bob specifically called on Black celebrities, "not just Black academics like Barack Obama and Angela Davis," to speak up on behalf of the trans community, including Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Wiz Khalifa and Waka Flocka Flame.
While Bob was trying to think of another performer's name, Justin Sylvester asked if it was Dave Chappelle he was thinking of.
"Don't even get me started at Dave Chappelle," Bob responded. "This is a real blow to my system because, like, Dave Chappelle is someone that I've always looked up to, and his comedy is so...lately he's been really doubling down on this idea that trans people are a joke, or that trans' existence is funny or that trans people just living their lives is funny to him."
"And then when Dave Chappelle—who's one of the most respected Black people in comedy and entertainment—goes on TV or when Netflix gives him money to say 'I can't stop laughing at trans people, they're just so funny!' then it validates that idea for other people, and then other people double down and agree with him," Bob added.
Instead, he continued, Dave could've "used his voice to say, 'Trans people are valid.'"
"And he could also still be funny within [the] context of these things," Bob said. "You don't have to punch down. Like, you're Dave Chappelle—all of your content leading up to this year, you didn't have any trans-misogynistic jokes in any of that stuff. You don't need that stuff."
Justin echoed Bob's sentiments, explaining, "If you're gonna put me down and use me as a punchline of a joke, at least validate my existence and let people know that I am here and I am human."
You can watch Bob The Drag Queen on Just the Sip here.
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