Dave Chappelle calls Louis C.K. accusers ‘weak’ and ‘brittle’ in new special

ZeoVGM · Jan 2, 2018

This is starting to make the rounds a bit. Rather than make the official thread for the special all about this -- and because this specifically is making headlines -- I thought it was worth making a thread for.

http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/dave-chappelle-louis-c-k-accusers-weak-brittle-1202650867/

In his latest Netflix comedy special, Dave Chappelle addressed the recent sexual harassment allegations against fellow comedian Louis C.K., while also criticizing C.K.'s accusers.

"One lady said, 'Louis C.K. masturbated in front of me, ruined my comedy dreams,'" Chappelle said. "Word? Well, then I dare say, madam, you may have never had a dream. Come on man, that's a brittle spirit."

In the second part of the comedian's duo Netflix special "Dave Chappelle: Equanimity & The Bird Revelation,"Chappelle called the five women who accused C.K. of harassment "weak," singling out one accuser's story who alleged that the comic masturbated while on the phone with her.

"Bitch, you don't know how to hang up the phone? How the hell are you going to survive in show business if this is an actual obstacle to your dreams? I know Louis is wrong, I'm just saying, I'm held to a higher standard of accountability than these women are," Chappelle said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/arts/television/dave-chappelle-netflix-special.html

In "The Bird Revelation," the first comedy special to focus on the #MeToo movement, Dave Chappelle, sitting on a stool at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles in November, pauses to give advice to some comedians in the back. "You have a responsibility to speak recklessly," he says.

In that special and a second one, "Equanimity," both released on Sunday by Netflix, he makes a show of hesitating before wading into controversial territory. It's an old tactic of his, building suspense by suggesting he is about to say something taboo. But it's worth asking: Just how reckless is Dave Chappelle being these days?

More at each link.

I think there's a difference between offensive comedy, which I have no issues with, and outright victim blaming. That's the kind of nonsense attitude that pushes women to stay silent.

OnanieBomb · Jan 2, 2018

When keeping it real goes wrong

Heckler456 · Jan 2, 2018

I haven't watched the specials yet, but I read that he doesn't really, when the joke is taken in context. I read he even directly calls CK a shitbag right after this quote.

Chaparral · Jan 2, 2018

Alongside the trans issues already brought up, things keep getting worse for Dave. And like last time, his fanboys are going to continue to defend the god king of comedy from his frankly shit and nasty opinions.

Deleted member 35987 · Jan 2, 2018

He did a similar bit with R Kelly and the girl that got urinated on. Idk, I'm not reading too much into it other than it being a comedy bit.

Deleted member 14002 · Jan 2, 2018

Watching one of the specials now actually. Will post impressions afterwards.

Going to say that people have to overcome adversity to succeed in their dreams. That being said sexual harassment shouldn't be a part of that and does not belong in our society.

wild wild rice said:
When keeping it real goes wrong

Pretty much.

Deleted member 888 · Jan 2, 2018

Trust the American media to completely miss the point of the setup to get clicks from making it appear like Chappelle is actually victim blaming and saying women should be going through harassment to climb the ladder. From the other topic my 2 cents

Audioboxer said:
But don't you see the "how are you going to survive in show business?" as an indicator of how fucking rotten Hollywood/show business is? Like, harassing masturbation is awful, but it's Hollywood/show business, full on rape, physical assault and violence seem to be the next hurdle for half the industry. Therefore, a dark comic joke that if you really want to pursue your dreams, you better be ready for much worse.

People keep tossing the "Carlin wouldn't survive in this era" around, and I think that is a bit lazy, but Jesus, with Variety and the NYTimes running this, maybe not.

From the other topic as well, here's Jim Jefferies very funnily pointing out the difference between saying offensive shit because it's funny, and a comics actual opinion. Also a good nod to taking transcripts from a comedy show and running them as news articles. For him, it was "you can never joke about rape" and an article misconstruing what he said to be funny as his actual opinion.

I don't personally think Dave believes women deserve to be abused/raped in their careers. I don't quite get that from him.

Instro · Jan 2, 2018

I think the general issue with this, and previous stories, is that based on the wording they come off as him getting on a soap box and targeting folks rather than doing comedy bits. I think his comments are particularly puzzling when you consider what happened with The Chapelle Show.

RustyNails · Jan 2, 2018

He says the women are right, he supports them, and Louis CK is horrible. But he says this statement because the women claimed their careers were now over because Louis CK yanked in front of them. It was his way of saying to be strong and dont give up because Louis jerking off shouldnt be seen as a showstopping obstacle, but I'm not Dave Chappelle and I wouldnt put it that way.

ZeoVGM · Jan 2, 2018

Heckler456 said:
I haven't watched the specials yet, but I read that he doesn't really, when the joke is taken in context. I read he even directly calls CK a shitbag right after this quote.

Unfortunately, calling the assaulter a shitbag means nothing when it comes alongside "but the woman should have..."

Nope.

Deleted member 5593 · Jan 2, 2018

Sounds like he's making a joke out of the "ruined my comedy dreams" comment rather than the actual sexual assault they went through.

Serene · Jan 2, 2018

Having watched the specials, the comments aren't great, but taking them out of context makes them look way worse than they are.

Septic · Jan 2, 2018

I watched it now and I kind of agree with him?

"Word? Well, then I dare say, madam, you may have never had a dream. Come on man, that's a brittle spirit."

His comment here was about a woman watching Louis masturbate. I'm sorry but welcome to the world where things aren't easy and YES its horrible and wrong that you have to go through that BUT you're living in a world where there is so much adversity and if something like that completely puts you off pursuing your dreams, then your dreams weren't that solid imo.

David Chappelle repeatedly states that he does sympathise but he is spot on in the way he approached this.

"Bitch, you don't know how to hang up the phone? How the hell are you going to survive in show business if this is an actual obstacle to your dreams? I know Louis is wrong, I'm just saying, I'm held to a higher standard of accountability than these women are," Chappelle said.

I agree with him. The OP sounds so much harsher when taken out of context. Watch the actual episode on Netflix for the proper context and form.

FaceHugger · Jan 2, 2018

Yea that was bad. Called her brittle because a guy with a lot of influence that she looked up to jerked off while they were on a presumably business call and that turned her off to the profession. Chapelle seems incapable of true self reflection though, so I doubt any backlash he gets will affect him.

CriticalBeast · Jan 2, 2018

Yeah I don't think allot of people understood what he was trying to saying in the second special.

Puck Beaverton · Jan 2, 2018

Snowflake generation m i rite

thefit · Jan 2, 2018

Or you could watch the specials and take in the context because it takes the entirety of the show to get the context not some click bait 24hour news cycle hot take.

litebrite · Jan 2, 2018

Septic said:
I watched it now and I kind of agree with him?

"Word? Well, then I dare say, madam, you may have never had a dream. Come on man, that's a brittle spirit."

His comment here was about a woman watching Louis masturbate. I'm sorry but welcome to the world where things aren't easy and YES its horrible and wrong that you have to go through that BUT you're living in a world where there is so much adversity and if something like that completely puts you off pursuing your dreams, then your dreams weren't that solid imo.

David Chappelle repeatedly states that he does sympathise but he is spot on in the way he approached this.

"Bitch, you don't know how to hang up the phone? How the hell are you going to survive in show business if this is an actual obstacle to your dreams? I know Louis is wrong, I'm just saying, I'm held to a higher standard of accountability than these women are," Chappelle said.

I agree with him. The OP sounds so much harsher when taken out of context. Watch the actual episode on Netflix for the proper context and form.

This is exactly how I took it.

CallMeShaft · Jan 2, 2018

Come on Dave, don't act like you'd be okay with some dude faping it in front of you.

808s & Villainy · Jan 2, 2018

RustyNails said:
He says the women are right, he supports them, and Louis CK is horrible. But he says this statement because the women claimed their careers were now over because Louis CK yanked in front of them. It was his way of saying to be strong and dont give up because Louis jerking off shouldnt be seen as a showstopping obstacle, but I'm not Dave Chappelle and I wouldnt put it that way.

This is what he was saying. Essentially that they shouldn't let their hopes and dreams be crushed by what CK did. Not everyone is strong enough to do that, and not everyone reacts to these incidents in the same way, so his comment might have been a tad insensitive depending on the person, but the OP and the articles are pretty gross generalizations that seem only concerned in getting clicks

CallMeShaft said:
Come on Dave, don't act like you'd be okay with some dud faping it in front of you.

He's not saying he would

Cream said:
How about men not tell women the validity of their dreams in a world filled with a level of adversity men will never understand or deal with, hmm?

Nor is he doing this

Cream · Jan 2, 2018

How about men not tell women the validity of their dreams in a world filled with a level of adversity men will never understand or deal with, hmm?

Hollywood Duo · Jan 2, 2018

CallMeShaft said:
Come on Dave, don't act like you'd be okay with some dud faping it in front of you.

He literally had a stand up routine about that back in the day.

Thisman · Jan 2, 2018

ZeoVGM said:
Unfortunately, calling the assaulter a shitbag means nothing when it comes alongside "but the woman should have..."

Nope.

See the post above you

Dougieflesh · Jan 2, 2018

There won't be much outrage over these statements. People were making it seem like he was supporting Louis C.K. on Twitter.

Waddle Dee · Jan 2, 2018

People on here, and the old place, seem pretty slow to the realization that Dave Chappelle is a bit of a sexist asshole. Not saying he isn't on-point in some other topics, but he's an asshole.

Heckler456 · Jan 2, 2018

RustyNails said:
He says the women are right, he supports them, and Louis CK is horrible. But he says this statement because the women claimed their careers were now over because Louis CK yanked in front of them. It was his way of saying to be strong and dont give up because Louis jerking off shouldnt be seen as a showstopping obstacle, but I'm not Dave Chappelle and I wouldnt put it that way.

Yeah, that's what I heard as well.

Golden_Pigeon · Jan 2, 2018

Journalism pushed to it's limits.*

*Clickbaiting

Ilovehotmoms · Jan 2, 2018

Nothing is off limits in stand up comedy

Chaparral · Jan 2, 2018

Waddle Dee said:
People on here, and the old place, seem pretty slow to the realization that Dave Chappelle is a bit of a sexist asshole. Not saying he isn't on-point in some other topics, but he's an asshole.

Absolutely, he is. And it alludes to the fact that he has such a fanbase that will actively defend him in any sort of way with the usual arguments.

Cream said:
How about men not tell women the validity of their dreams in a world filled with a level of adversity men will never understand or deal with, hmm?

But of course, we pig-headed men just HAVE to get our word in about how women's opinions don't matter! /s

ailaeshiz · Jan 2, 2018

Dave talks about dancing with a transgender woman like it was the worst thing to ever happen to him, but tells women comics to toughen up when a powerful comedian masturbates in front of them. C'mon guy.

KHarvey16 · Jan 2, 2018

Maybe they should just disappear for a few months with millions of dollars. I hear that helps.

Septic · Jan 2, 2018

RustyNails said:
He says the women are right, he supports them, and Louis CK is horrible. But he says this statement because the women claimed their careers were now over because Louis CK yanked in front of them. It was his way of saying to be strong and dont give up because Louis jerking off shouldnt be seen as a showstopping obstacle, but I'm not Dave Chappelle and I wouldnt put it that way.

Exactly this.

Truant · Jan 2, 2018

Dave is frustrated with how much attention and sympathy C.K's victims get by the general population and media, compared to the struggles of the African-American community. This has been a central theme to a lot of his jokes lately.

Thisman · Jan 2, 2018

ailaeshiz said:
Dave talks about dancing with a transgender women like it was the worst thing to ever happen to him, but tells women comics to toughen up when a powerful comedian masturbates in front of them. C'mon guy.

So worse he asked the transgender woman to at least finish the remaining songs with him ..... yeah.....

BossAttack · Jan 2, 2018

The special was hilarious and that bit was great. But yes, remove the context and turn it into pure text and you can find some outrage there to write a clickbait article.

Hollywood Duo · Jan 2, 2018

Waddle Dee said:
People on here, and the old place, seem pretty slow to the realization that Dave Chappelle is a bit of a sexist asshole. Not saying he isn't on-point in some other topics, but he's an asshole.

He's a comedian doing some offensive bits. Hardly earth shattering stuff. People are free to hate him or like him. If he starts actually harassing people off stage then we have a problem.

Invisible Cities · Jan 2, 2018

It sounds like a joke about how terrible show business is.

Cordy · Jan 2, 2018

RustyNails said:
He says the women are right, he supports them, and Louis CK is horrible. But he says this statement because the women claimed their careers were now over because Louis CK yanked in front of them. It was his way of saying to be strong and dont give up because Louis jerking off shouldnt be seen as a showstopping obstacle, but I'm not Dave Chappelle and I wouldnt put it that way.

This.

Sad that people aren't reading exactly what he said nor have they watched the special. People need to do more research these days.

Thisman · Jan 2, 2018

If Carlin was alive this journalist and many other folks would have hated his every routine because he pushed the limits even more than Dave

Chaparral · Jan 2, 2018

Truant said:
Dave is frustrated with how much attention and sympathy C.K's victims get by the general population and media, compared to the struggles of the African-American community.

And? This isn't a fucking dick measuring contest where one group's struggles are compared to one another. Why can't he have some goddamn sympathy to the women who continued to be victimized by not only a predatory Hollywood power, but also men in power everywhere?

RoninChaos · Jan 2, 2018

Sounds like whoever wrote that article did it specifically to take what Dave said out of context. He didn't excuse Louis at all, but rather says that if this is what stopped you, then you wouldn't have made it anyway. It reminds me of the stuff he's said about that chick that got kidnapped, what was her name? Elizabeth something? He was like "I'm sympathetic that she was kidnapped but you can't kidnap me around some shit I recognize. I'd be like "Hey ,that's my bus stop!"

Same with the kids that got pissed on by R. Kelly. He said something along the lines of "yeah, I'm sympathetic towards them and what they went through, but if someone is pissing on you can't you just get out of the way?" And I think he has a point. Everybody goes through awful shit, people deal with racism and sexism and sexual harrassment every day. It sucks the world is this way, but if you quit because you ran into this kind of thing, then you weren't going to make it and I think that's legit.

Merc_ · Jan 2, 2018

BossAttack said:
The special was hilarious and that bit was great. But yes, remove the context and turn it into pure text and you can find some outrage there to write a clickbait article.

Yeah, you can tell who didn't actually watch the special in here.

Anubis · Jan 2, 2018

ailaeshiz said:
Dave talks about dancing with a transgender woman like it was the worst thing to ever happen to him, but tells women comics to toughen up when a powerful comedian masturbates in front of them. C'mon guy.

I don't recall him implying it was the worst.

Correct me if I am wrong, I'll go back and watch the segment.

TheIdiot · Jan 2, 2018

I see the media is realizing how many clicks transcribing comedian's material is getting them lately.

Deleted member 9135 · Jan 2, 2018

CallMeShaft said:
Come on Dave, don't act like you'd be okay with some dude faping it in front of you.

the subject of the joke is centered around giving up on the career, not the assault itself. his argument is not to leave an industry to remove yourself from a toxic situation. his framing of the point is questionable.

HStallion · Jan 2, 2018

FaceHugger said:
Yea that was bad. Called her brittle because a guy with a lot of influence that she looked up to jerked off while they were on a presumably business call and that turned her off to the profession. Chapelle seems incapable of true self reflection though, so I doubt any backlash he gets will affect him.

Its a bit weird as during some bits he did in the latest specials it almost sounded like Dave had turned into the type of person he used to make fun of in his earlier days.

Cordy · Jan 2, 2018

RoninChaos said:
Sounds like whoever wrote that article did it specifically to take what Dave said out of context. He didn't excuse Louis at all, but rather says that if this is what stopped you, then you wouldn't have made it anyway. It reminds me of the stuff he's said about that chick that got kidnapped, what was her name? Elizabeth something? He was like "I'm sympathetic that she was kidnapped but you can't kidnap me around some shit I recognize. I'd be like "Hey ,that's my bus stop!"

Same with the kids that got pissed on by R. Kelly. He said something along the lines of "yeah, I'm sympathetic towards them and what they went through, but if someone is pissing on you can't you just get out of the way?" And I think he has a point. Everybody goes through awful shit, people deal with racism and sexism and sexual harrassment every day. It sucks the world is this way, but if you quit because you ran into this kind of thing, then you weren't going to make it and I think that's legit.

Nice of you to bring up those situations as well. Great examples. I forgot about those lol.

Thisman · Jan 2, 2018

Merc_ said:
Yeah, you can tell who didn't actually watch the special in here.

Precisely .

Stardestroyer · Jan 2, 2018

Chaparral said:
Absolutely, he is. And it alludes to the fact that he has such a fanbase that will actively defend him in any sort of way with the usual arguments.

But of course, we pig-headed men just HAVE to get our word in about how women's opinions don't matter! /s

You and Cream are the reason clickbait exist.

MindofKB · Jan 2, 2018

These article titles are framed to smear Dave and rake in clicks.

Watch the entire bit from the special and you get a much better understanding of what he was talking about.

Dave Chappelle calls Louis C.K. accusers ‘weak’ and ‘brittle’ in new special

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