Hannah Gadsby fans hit out at Dave Chappelle after his sledge

The Dave Chappelle controversy doesn’t look to be dying down. After his sledging of an Australian comedian, her fans have hit back.

Hannah Gadsby fans are not having it.

After controversial comedian Dave Chappelle went after the Australian comic, her fans have hit back.

Stand-up Sean Kent tweeted his defence, “[Totally] unnecessary to take a shot at Hannah Gadsby and sick his internet trolls on her”.

Chappelle has been embroiled in a furore since the release of his Netflix special The Closer in which he made comments many found offensive towards the trans and LGBTQI communities.

The controversy led to a walkout of Netflix employees, some of whom openly criticised their company for streaming the special and then defending Chappelle.

Dave Chappelle is embroiled in scandal over his Netflix special. (Photo by Alex Edelman / AFP)

Yesterday, Chappelle posted a video of himself in which he listed three conditions under which he’ll meet with trans Netflix employees. One of them was that they had to admit “Hannah Gadsby isn’t funny”.

Some of her fans defended Gadsby on Twitter:

Hannah Gadsby is hilarious. Her comedy is real and human and never relies on punching down at vulnerable people for cheap laughs or easy bucks.

Dave Chapelle could learn a lot from her (but he won't). https://t.co/SkIL99wFp0

— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) October 26, 2021

Dave Chapelle saying that Hannah Gadsby is not funny just proves that Dave Chapelle doesn’t know what’s funny

— A Loaded Piece of Toast (@Dani_Neider) October 25, 2021

I laughed more during 5 minutes of Hannah Gadsby's act than I did at Chapelle's entire special.

— Amanda Winn Lee (@amandawinnlee) October 26, 2021

Hannah Gadsby is funny specifically to the same groups that Dave Chapelle sees as just the butts of his jokes.

He doesn’t think she’s funny because he doesn’t recognize her core audience as people whose opinions matter. https://t.co/MdOPBtFKtK

— Kendall Brown (@kendallybrown) October 26, 2021

Gadsby was born in Tasmania and has been widely lauded for her special Nanette, which is also streaming on Netflix.

Gadsby is known for her confessional-style routines in which she confronts homophobia and discrimination through her personal experiences. She won an Emmy and a Peabody award for Nanette, and followed it up with Douglas, which is also on Netflix.

Gadsby was dragged into the Chappelle drama when Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos invoked her name as part of his defence of the streamer’s actions, while attempting to mount an argument that Netflix has showcased diverse and marginalised stories.

Gadsby hit out at Sarandos for using her work as a shield, “Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess.

“Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial world view.

Hannah Gadsby was dragged into the Chappelle drama by Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos.

“You didn’t pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted.

“F**k you and your amoral algorithm cult… I do sh*ts with more back bone than you. That’s just a joke! I definitely didn’t cross a line because you just told the world there isn’t one.”

Chappelle’s fans point out that Gadsby “started” the beef by calling his worldview “emotionally stunted” while Gadsby’s defenders argued that she was dragged into it by Sarandos.

Arguably, Chappelle’s original comments in The Closer have been the instigating factor but how long is a piece of string?

Chappelle also claimed in his video that LGBTQI people “he knows” have been supportive of him.

Chappelle has been a comedian for three decades and has in the past won five Emmys and the Mark Twain Prize. He has been cited by many comedians as one of their greatest influences but has in recent years attracted criticism for repeated swipes at the trans community.