Jay-Z says Dave Chappelle is 'super-brave and super-genius' in response to 'The Closer' trans jokes controversy
- Jay-Z called Dave Chappelle "super-brave and super-genius" during a Twitter Spaces conversation.
- Chappelle's recent special sparked backlash after he said "gender is a fact" and defended JK Rowling.
Jay-Z praised Dave Chappelle for being "super-brave and super-genius" when asked about Chappelle's recent Netflix special, which sparked controversy for making jokes at the expense of trans people.
In "The Closer," Chappelle defended JK Rowling over her TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) comments, said, "gender is a fact," and described himself as "Team TERF." Chappelle addressed the criticism last month in an Instagram video saying he would not be "bending to anyone's demands."
On Friday, November 5, Jay-Z, who was recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Chappelle, shared his opinion of the comedian during a Twitter Spaces conversation to promote "The Harder They Fall," which the rapper produces and has written new music for.
"He's super-brave and super-genius," Jay-Z began. "You spend time with him and he's brilliant. And I think he pushed a lot of buttons."
"I think what happens with true art is it has to cause a conversation and sometimes it's going to be abrasive, sometimes it's going to be off-putting to folks, but I think it opens up an opportunity to have a dialogue about whatever the issue is," Jay-Z continued.
The Grammy award-winning rapper went on to talk about how social media was restricting important conversation.
"These algorithms and things on these sites allow you to talk to people that agree with you," he said. "I think we have to speak with one another when we disagree. That's how we get to the bottom of it, that's what therapy is. You gotta sit there and deal with yourself in a real way, these are the things I've done and these are the things I gotta grow from and anything that doesn't have that tension, it's not gonna be real."
Jay-Z added: "We had all these fake conversations for all this time about race until Trump was in office, then we got to see people for who they truly were."
When asked further about his opinion on Chappelle's special, Jay-Z shut the reporter down and did not state whether he agreed with Chappelle's controversial comments.
"I don't want to answer to Dave Chappelle so I'm not speaking specifically to his work but I think great art is divisive," the rapper said. "When you're making great art, you have to be fearless and create something that you believe in."
After the Netflix employee walkout last month to persuade Netflix to create content that "represents and uplifts trans content," Chappelle said he would be willing to meet with the trans community if they watched his entire special, and he got to choose the time and place. He also said they must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.
Gadsby, who is a comedian and part of the LGBTQ community, criticized Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos for using her as an example to show the streamer has a variety of views in an internal memo defending Chappelle's special revealed by The Verge.
Sarandos has since apologized for his memo telling Variety that he "should have led with a lot more humanity" but defended keeping the special on Netflix. Damon Wayans and Caitlin Jenner have also spoken out defending Chappelle.