On a night that otherwise celebrated queer creators to an unparalleled extent, sending queer creators home with awards like Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Rock Song, and Album of the Year, among others, Dave Chappelle’s fifth Grammy win for his Netflix special The Closer felt like a slap in the face to the queer community.
Juxtaposed against a backdrop of Kim Petras being the first trans woman to win the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for her duet with Sam Smith, “Unholy,” Chappelle’s special in which he declared himself a member of “Team TERF” seemed an unlikely choice if the awards show wanted to portray itself as an entity that supports and affirms queer creators.
Twitter users called out this hypocrisy, with one user saying, “Cancel culture is not real for men because Dave Chappelle won a Grammy tonight, and Dr. Dre is getting some achievement award.” Wired and Slate writer Alejandra Caraballo suggested on her Twitter that, “They should just rename the category (Best Comedy Album), ‘biggest piece of shit in comedy.’ It would be more accurate.”
This win does call into question just how valid the complaints against “cancel culture” can be if, after being “canceled” for his blatant, unapologetic transphobia, Chappelle can accept a Grammy for the exact same special that got him “canceled” in the first place. Regardless, Chappelle and other comedians who can’t conceive of being funny without shitting on underprivileged groups will continue to blame their lack of popular support on “political correctness,” despite the fact that they can still be critically acclaimed for the very comments that led to their fans abandoning them.
The Grammys awarding this special, as opposed to family-friendly comedian Jim Gaffigan for Comedy Monster or Randy Rainbow for A Little Brains, A Little Talent comes across as tacit approval of Chappelle’s particular brand of making intentionally offensive jokes to drive conversation about him. Others may be encouraged to pursue this now that they know that whether people actually liked their comedy has little to do with whether it earns an award or not.
