The backlash generated from Dave Chappelle’s Netflix comedy special The Closer is still lingering, but Kevin Hart has made it clear he’s standing by his friend and fellow comedian. Because of several offensive jokes in the special, especially in regards to the LGBTQ+ community, there were calls for Netflix to pull the special and terminate their relationship with Chappelle. Neither has happened as Netflix has stood by the comedian despite the backlash.
One comedian with some of his own experience in dealing with controversy stemming from his jokes is Kevin Hart. Recently, Hart spoke with AP Entertainment about the matter and shared his thoughts on Chappelle’s controversy. Hart stresses that he knows Chappelle personally as a friend and feels that the criticisms being leveled against him aren’t reflective of who he really is. He also says he stands by Chappelle and considers himself lucky to know the comedian as well as he does.
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Kevin Hart has faced his own controversy related to his comedy, though the situation was a bit different. He was previously set to host the Academy Awards, a gig which he described at the time as a dream job come true. Soon after the announcement, he resigned from hosting the Oscars amid a social media outcry based on “homophobic” jokes he’d made on social media. He lost his job hosting the Oscars, though his movie career has done well enough in the time since, as he still continues to star in movies and television projects. He can currently be seen in the Netflix series True Story alongside Wesley Snipes.
As for Dave Chappelle, The Closer currently serves as his sixth and final Netflix comedy special. That doesn’t mean he won’t be back at some point in the future for more, but he has nothing planned on the horizon, which might be for the best for now, given the controversy. He is also the subject of the documentary Dave Chappelle: Live in Real Life from Steven Bognar and Julie Reichart which chronicles Chappelle’s concerts in his hometown in Yellow Springs during the pandemic. Chappelle has said that the movie was pulled from film festivals after the Netflix backlash, but he intends to have it shown with a 10-city U.S. tour.
