Dave Chapelle didn’t just offend the LGBTQ community with his latest standup special. He betrayed the legacy of the Black comic tradition he inherited. Some of the most iconic Black comedians were either gay or affirmed them in their performances.
The long list of iconic Black comics who affirmed gender nonconforming people or were members of the LGBTQ community themselves. Richard Pryor was bisexual and raised money for a gay rights organization. » Moms Mabley, ‘ who was the first Black female standup comic to go mainstream, was a lesbian. Cross-dressing Black men have created some of the enduring comic characters in Black comic history, from comedian’s Flip Wilson’s sassy « The Devil Made Me Do it » character of » Geraldine » to Tyler Perry’s » Madea. » Black comics have indeed peddled their fair share of harmful stereotypes about LGBTQ people. Eddie Murphy, for example, unleashed a blistering series of homophobic slurs in his early standup routines — performances for which he’s since apologized. But the stage has been one of those few places in the Black community where LGBTQ members had some measure of freedom to be themselves — or to escape the cruelty they faced in the outside world. Chappelle has taken some of that space away. « There’s a long tradition of trans and non-gender conforming performers in our history, from the Harlem Renaissance throughout our performing history, » says Marlon M. Bailey, author of « Butch Queens Up in Pumps: Gender, Performance, and Ballroom Culture in Detroit. » This is what gets lost in the controversy over Chapelle’s comments in his latest standup film, » The Closer. » Much of the attention has focused on the content of his jokes. Chappelle joked about trans women’s genitalia and told a story about beating up a lesbian woman. And then there’s the fallout. Netflix employees and supporters demonstrated Wednesday to protest the streaming company’s reaction to complaints. GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization, also condemned the comments Chapelle’s comments made in « The Closer. » It’s easy, though, to forget with all the focus on Chapelle that there were Black comedians who took big risks to affirm LGBTQ people, and to be honest about their own sexuality. Richard Pryor and Moms Mabley Consider the story of Richard Pryor, arguably the great standup comic ever. There is a generation of moviegoers who only know him through the insipid Hollywood movies he starred in like « The Toy. » But Pryor was a different performer on the comic standup stage: fearless, unpredictable, profane.
