Michelle Buteau wants Dave Chappelle to change Tran’s jokes

Michelle Buteau’s new special dropped on Netflix this Tuesday and the comedian had some good advice for her fellow comedian: Dave Chappelle.

Chappelle received backlash from the trans community over jokes he made in his 2023 Netflix special “Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer.”

Michelle Buteau escalated the criticism in her own Netflix special, “Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall.”

According to Variety, Buteau wants the comedian to “make it funny” when it comes to jokes about the trans community.

In her Netflix special “Michelle Buteau: A Buteau-ful Mind at Radio City Music Hall,” the 47-year-old comedian criticized Chappelle for his jokes about transgender people.

The “Survival of the Thickest” actress urged her fans to give it a miss Chappelle I know he can be funny about the trans community without being derogatory.

“We can do this. We can make it fun,” Buteau said. “We just have to work on it, right? So if you ever meet Dave Chappelle, can you tell him? I don’t think he knows.”

Buteau’s special debuted on Netflix on New Year’s Eve.

The comedian praised Chappelle as an iconic comedian by calling him “The GOAT (the greatest of all time),” but she also excoriated him for his transgender jokes, claiming on Chappelle’s behalf that GOAT stands for “go after transgender people.”

She also chastised Chappelle for making trans people feel unsafe.

“I can’t believe anyone would spend millions and millions of dollars making people feel unsafe. I really think that’s so crazy,” Buteau said diversity. “I’m manifesting this shit tonight. This is a takeover of Radio City Music Hall, and I will tell everyone that I want to make millions and millions of dollars to make people feel safe, seen, secure, heard and entertained.”

Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer also debuted on Netflix on New Year’s Eve a year ago, and the comedian was widely criticized for his comments about transgender people during the special.

Chappelle made a trans joke while telling a story about meeting a comedian Jim Carrey on the set of the Andy Kaufman biopic “Man in the Moon.”

Carrey played the late comedian in the film, and according to Chappelle, Carrey was method acting when he met him on set and the actor stayed in character. The 51-year-old Half Baked star added that he was grateful to have witnessed Carrey’s creative transformation, but that it was “disappointing” at the time.

“How damn lucky am I in hindsight? That I was able to experience one of the greatest artists of my time in one of his most demanding processes? I was very lucky to have seen that, but when it happened it was very disappointing,” he told Chappelle.

“I wanted to meet JimCarrey and I had to pretend this n—A was Andy Kaufman,” he continued. “He was definitely Jim Carrey all afternoon. I could look at him and see that he was Jim Carrey.

Chappelle was referring to the ongoing controversy between the comedian and the transgender community stemming from the transgender jokes he told during his 2021 comedy special “The Closer.” The comedian went on to say that he would no longer tell trans jokes as he doubled down on his humor.

“I don’t do anything with these people anymore,” he joked. “It wasn’t worth it. I don’t say anything about her. Maybe three or four times tonight, but that’s it. I’m tired of talking about her.”

“To be honest, I’ve been trying to repair my relationship with the transgender community because I don’t want them to think that I don’t like them,” he continued.

“Do you know how I fixed it? I wrote a play. I have that. Because I know gays love plays,” he joked. “It’s a very sad piece, but it’s moving. It’s about a black transgender woman whose pronoun is unfortunately n—-a. At the end of the play she dies of loneliness because white liberals don’t know how to talk to her (sadly.”

According to Buteau, she is the first woman to film a comedy special at Radio City Music Hall in New York City USA today.

The comedian told the network that she wanted her Netflix special to make others feel seen, including those in the LGBTQ community.

“I never asked my team, ‘Can I do this?'” Buteau said. “I asked myself, ‘How can you help me with this?’ I don’t want to hear “It doesn’t work.” It’s crazy. How do you exist as a black, brown, queer, or fat person? You just do it. Stop listening to people who want to oppress you.

Buteau also said in her special that Chappelle’s way of joking was “dangerous.”

“I’m not saying you can’t say things – I’m just saying, ‘Can you make it funny?’ Because it doesn’t feel fun,” Buteau said. “They’re hurting people and making it dangerous.” And it’s not just Chappelle – it’s a part of the culture that I don’t understand. When people say, “We can’t do what we used to do anymore.” Yes! Slavery used to be legal, people. Sometimes we have to move forward, and I’m sorry if it’s different, but remember.”