Damon Wayans says he appreciates comedian Dave Chappelle and insists that he is more than just an “artist” but he’s a “unicorn.”
Wayans also claims that Chappelle is a freedom fighter when it comes to his new controversial Netflix special, “The Closer.”
“I feel like Dave freed the slaves. Yeah, the comedians,” Wayans, 61, told TMZ. “We were slaves to PC culture and he just, you know — as an artist he’s Van Gogh. He cut his ear off. He’s trying to tell us it’s OK.”
Last Tuesday, Chappelle’s special premiered and it quickly sparked controversy over the explosive jokes about transgender women.
Since the premiere, critics have demanded “The Closer” to be removed from Netflix’s selection, but a top Netflix executive announced yesterday that he preferred to support “artistic freedom.”
“Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long-standing deal with him. His last special ‘Sticks & Stones,’ also controversial, is our most-watched, stickiest, and most award-winning stand-up special to date,” Ted Sarandos, 57, co-CEO and chief creative officer of Netflix wrote in a company memo. “As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom — even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful.”
When a cameraman from TMZ inquired if Chappelle’s bold acts allow musicians to “be a bit more risqué or free to be yourself?” Wayans went a step further than Sarandos.
He said, “I’ve always been free — but, um, I just think he’s saying, ‘You know what? All that I have, I’m not afraid to lose it for the sake of creative freeness of speech. You can’t edit yourself. Comedians, we’re like — Mercedes makes a great car, but you gotta crash a lot of them before they perfect it.”
GLAAD advocacy group said that “Chappelle’s brand has become synonymous with ridiculing trans people and other marginalized communities.”
When asked about the criticism, he said “I can’t speak about the content of the show. But what I say is, there’s a bigger conversation we need to have. Someone needs to look us in the eye and go, ‘You’re no longer free in this country. You’re not free to say what you want. You say what we want you to say. Otherwise, we will cancel you.’ That’s the discussion we should have.”
Before ending the conversation with TMZ, Wayne said “He’s a unicorn. He’s amazing. He’s a Van Gogh.”
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