For those who haven't seen the special, the core of the controversy appears to be Chappelle mourning his friend, Daphne Dorman. She was a transgender standup comedian who opened for Chappelle and defended his comedy against the Twitter mob. She killed herself shortly after she was canceled by the mob and Chappelle set up a trust fund for her daughter.
Chappelle paid tribute to her in his special, but he did it in an offensive way. But given their relationship, the tribute was probably something she would have approved of and her family has defended Chappelle's tribute: https://deadline.com/2021/10/dave-chappelle-the-closer-defen...
Most of the outrage appears to come from people who haven't actually watched the special and are taking Chappelle's quotes about racism and LGBT issues out of context.
Chappelle paid tribute to her in his special, but he did it in an offensive way. But given their relationship, the tribute was probably something she would have approved of and her family has defended Chappelle's tribute: https://deadline.com/2021/10/dave-chappelle-the-closer-defen...
Most of the outrage appears to come from people who haven't actually watched the special and are taking Chappelle's quotes about racism and LGBT issues out of context.