Dave Chappelle was friends with Daphne Dorman, a trans woman who committed suicide in 2019.
Chappelle talked about Dorman during his Netflix special, The Closer. During two of the jokes, he misgendered her. The first joke was about the courage to commit suicide, which he quickly defended, saying that she would have loved the joke. The second joke had Chappelle telling her child that her father was the best woman he ever met.
Dorman family defends Chappelle
In a text message to the Daily Beast, Dorman’s sister, Becky, wrote “Daphne was in awe of Dave’s graciousness. She did not find his jokes rude, crude, off-coloring, off-putting, anything. She thought his jokes were funny. Daphne understood humor and comedy – she was not offended. Why would her family be offended?”
“Dave loved my sister and is an LGBTQ ally,” Dorman’s other sister, Brandy, added in a text message. “His entire set was begging to end this very situation.”
Brandy expanded on what she was saying in a Facebook post. “At this point I feel like he poured his heart out in that special and no one noticed. What he’s saying to the LGBTQ family is, ‘I see you. Do you see me? I’m mourning my friend in the best way I know how. Can you see me? Can you allow me that?’… This was a call to come together, that two oppressed factions of our nation put down their keyboards and make peace. How sad that this message was lost in translation.”
GLAAD, an LGBT anti-defamation organization, feels differently about the situation.
Written by Justin Acosta: Twitter: @hahalacka
