Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Comedian Michelle Buteau Expertly Slams Dave Chappelle For Making Anti-Trans Jokes

Michelle Buteau; Dave Chappelle
Jason Mendez/Getty Images for The Root, Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In her new Netflix standup special, Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall, the comedian takes aim at Chappelle for targeting trans people, remarking, "We can tell jokes and stories and not disparage a whole community."

Comedian Michelle Buteau epically schooled veteran stand-up comic Dave Chappelle on the basic rules of comedy on her new Netflix special, Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall.

In recent years, Chappelle, who was the 2019 recipient of the distinguished Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, fell under scrutiny for making demeaning jokes in his 2021 Netflix special, The Closer, targeting the transgender community, mainly transgender women.


He was further denounced for sarcastically expressing regret for his transphobic remarks in his next comedy special, The Dreamer, during which he mocked the same marginalized community in addition to making fun of disabled people.

Buteau addressed the controversy of Chappelle's anti-trans jokes in her new stand-up special.

She informed her audience:

“We can tell jokes and stories and not disparage a whole community."
"We can do that. We can make it funny, we just have to work at it."

Buteau added:

“So, if you ever run into Dave Chappelle, can you let him know that sh*t? I don’t think he knows that sh*t.”

The host of the Late Night Whenever! podcast also called Chappelle "The GOAT," but instead of the acronym meaning the "greatest of all time," Buteau changed it for Chappelle to "going off about trans-people."


She continued:

“Dave, it’s not funny. It’s dangerous. Make it funny."
"I can’t believe somebody would make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel unsafe. That is so wild to me."

Buteau added:

“I’m manifesting this sh*t tonight. This is a Radio City Music Hall takeover, and I’m gonna tell everybody I wanna make millions and millions of dollars for making people feel safe, seen, secure, heard and entertained.”

Fans shouted praise.



The comedian doubled down on her position regarding what makes certain jokes less humorous than others in an interview with USA Today.

Said Buteau:

“I’m not saying you can’t say things, I’m just saying: ‘Can you make it funny?’ Because it doesn’t feel funny."
"You’re hurting people and you’re making it dangerous."

While no one is safe in the world of stand-up, many felt Chappelle's jokes at the expense of trans people in The Closer —including one in which he declared himself as "team TERF," an acronym for “trans-exclusionary radical feminists”—were humorless and uninspiring.

It also resulted in staged walkouts from trans Netflix employees and their allies who joined protests in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community.

People shared their thoughts on Chappelle's comedy.


Buteau, who at 47 became the first woman to film a comedy special at the famed Radio City Music Hall, relayed an important message in her comedy special: That anti-trans jokes can reinforce harmful stereotypes the transgender community has fought against.

Transphobic punchlines can also invalidate an individual's trans identity and embolden others to discriminate against them and cause harm.

More from News/lgbtq

Signal app logo; J.D. Vance
Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Signal's Founder Epically Roasts Vance Over The Disastrous Group Chat Debacle

Signal founder Matthew Rosenfeld, better known by the pseudonym Moxie Marlinspike, mocked Vice President J.D. Vance after the app found itself at the center of the Trump administration's group text scandal.

Rosenfeld's post came amid revelations that Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was invited into a Signal chat with high-level Trump administration officials, particularly Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussing military strategy surrounding war strikes in Yemen.

Keep ReadingShow less
MTG, Martha Kelner
C-SPAN

MTG Blasted For Her Unhinged Reaction To A UK Reporter Asking Her A Question

Far right Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was bashed for viciously shutting down a British reporter who had a question about the Signal group chat scandal, AKA "Signalgate."

Republican President Donald Trump's administration continues to downplay concerns after The Atlantic'seditor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to the Signal messaging app's group chat in which U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared with top intelligence officials the specific weapons programs regarding the U.S. war strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Rachel Maddow
MSNBC

Rachel Maddow Gives Trump A Blistering Reality Check After His 'Perfect' Presidency Claims

MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow criticized President Donald Trump after he claimed "we've had two perfect months" to start out his presidency—conveniently downplaying "Signalgate" and ignoring all the scandals that have thus far struck his administration.

You can see his comments to reporters in the video below:

Keep ReadingShow less
train crossing in small town
craig kerwien on Unsplash

People Share Their Most Embarrassing Small Town Stories

I lived most of my life in a very small town in Northern Maine. There were about 200 kids in my high school and there were 56 kids in my graduating class—we were tied with the class of 1961 for the largest class ever.

When the primary employer in town—Pinkham Lumber Mill—shut down, the town got even smaller. Now the senior class is considered large if it reaches double digits.

Keep ReadingShow less
A post-it with "I Quit" written on it over a computer keypad
a yellow notepad on a keyboard
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

People Reveal Why They Quit Their Job On The First Day

As much as anyone may want to quit a job, at the end of the day it's easier said than done.

For one thing, even if people are working soul-sucking jobs that barely cover expenses, they still can't afford to lose the paycheck, until something better comes along.

Keep ReadingShow less