Transgender Comedian Flame Monroe Defends Dave Chappelle’s LGBTQ+ Jokes
Black transgender comedian, Flame Monroe, is coming to the defense of Dave Chappelle and his Netflix special The Closer following the backlash he has received.
Speaking with TMZ, Monroe says that making jokes about the LGBTQ+ community is fair game and something that is unique about the world of comedy is that nothing is off-limits.
"As a comedian, I believe that I don't want to be censored," she says. "The world has become too censored."
Adding, "All of this, what you can say and cannot say is ridiculous. Comedians are put on earth, and the safest place for us on the planet is us on the stage with a willing audience that's willing to listen. We say things that other people are afraid to say, and we say them hopefully in a funny way, so you use your own mind to do your own critical thinking and think for yourself."
In case you missed it, Chappelle has been under fire after viewers called some of his remarks distasteful regarding the transgender and LGBTQ+ community, according to CNN.
Despite the critiques, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos is defending the new comedy special. In an Oct. 8 email to employees of the company obtained by The Verge and Variety, the exec backed the special:
"Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don't allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don't believe The Closer crosses that line," he wrote. "I recognize, however, that distinguishing between commentary and harm is hard, especially with stand-up comedy which exists to push boundaries," Sarandos wrote to staff. "Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean-spirited but our members enjoy it, and it's an important part of our content offering."
