Caitlyn Jenner has come out in support of Dave Chappelle amid an ongoing controversy about his Netflix special.
Chapelle sparked controversy within the trans community during his special, which aired earlier this month, by claiming “gender is a fact” and labelling himself a “terf”, which stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminist.
Now Jenner has said people are trying to silence “free speech” by criticising him.
Writing on Twitter, she shared a clip in which he recently defended himself and said: “Dave Chappelle is 100 per cent right.
“This isn’t about the LGBTQ movement. It’s about woke cancel culture run amok, trying to silence free speech.
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“We must never yield or bow to those who wish to stop us from speaking our minds.”
Dave Chappelle is 100% right. This isn’t about the LGBTQ movement. It’s about woke cancel culture run amok, trying to silence free speech.
— Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) October 26, 2021
We must never yield or bow to those who wish to stop us from speaking our minds. pic.twitter.com/Nklalj6h5Y
It comes amid ongoing backlash over the comments made during the special.
“They canceled J.K. Rowling – my God,” he said. “Effectively, she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as shit, they started calling her a TERF.”
Chappelle continued: “I’m team TERF. I agree. I agree, man. Gender is a fact.”
In the same segment, the comedian went on to say that he was “not saying that to say trans women aren’t women” and that “people who watch his specials would know that I never had a problem with transgender people”.
Netflix employees were said to be angry about his comments and organised a walkout over the streaming services’ decision to air the special.
The National Black Justice Coalition’s executive director David Johns called out Netflix, and demanded that the platform remove the stand-up special.
In response, Chapelle posted a video in Instagram this week defending his comments and claiming he had been “cancelled” since making them.
“You say you want a safe working environment at Netflix,” he said.
“Well it seems like I’m the only one that can’t go to the office any more.
“Today, not a film company, not a movie studio, not a film festival, nobody will touch this film.
“Thank God for Ted Sarandos at Netflix. He’s the only one that didn’t cancel me yet.”
Chappelle added he would be happy to meet with the trans community to discuss the issue but implied he didn’t exactly regret his comments.
“To the transgender community, I am more than willing to give you an audience. But you will not summon me. I am not bending to anybody’s demands,” he said.
The fallout continues.
