Hannah Gadsby Calls Out Ted Sarandos For Dave Chappelle Defense
Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby has taken to Instagram to speak out against Ted Sarandos, after the Netflix co-CEO referred to her in a statement defending the controversial content of Dave Chappelle’s new comedy special The Closer. Critics of the filmed 72-minute routine have described Chappelle’s views as transphobic and harmful to marginalized communities. Earlier this week, Sarandos defended The Closer, stating that he believes the special hadn’t crossed the line.
“Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse – or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy – without it causing them to harm others,” Sarandos said in a staff memo reported by Variety. “We are working hard to ensure marginalized communities aren’t defined by a single story. So we have Sex Education, Orange is the New Black, Control Z, Hannah Gadsby and Dave Chappelle all on Netflix. Key to this is increasing diversity on the content team itself.”
In response to this statement, Gadsby posted a screenshot of a Notes memo to Instagram. “Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess,” Gadsby wrote in her post. “Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial word view.” Gadsby went on to say that Netflix didn’t compensate her for the “real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling” that goes on at the company.
Read her full post below:
The Closer is Dave Chappelle’s sixth stand-up special for Netflix, debuting on the platform on October 5. Since then, it has caused a ripple in the trans and LGBTQ community — including a staff walkout planned by trans employees and allies. Despite the outcry, Netflix currently has no plans to remove Chappelle’s special from its programming lineup.