• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
I Rise

I Rise

Empowering through health, wellness and historical knowledge

  • My culture, my country
  • History
    • On this day in history
  • Events

Categories

  • Culture
  • Empower
  • Features
  • Health and Wellness
  • Things to do
  • History
  • My culture, my country
  • Events

Need help?

  • Culture
  • Empower
  • Features
  • Health and Wellness
  • Things to do

Trans employee who tweeted about Dave Chappell special suspended by Netflix

11 October, 2021 by Ella Palmer
dave chappelle

David Chappelle received substantial criticism for his jokes and comments about trans people in his Netflix special, The Closer, which aired on 5 October. The backlash goes beyond comments in the media and on Twitter: Netflix employees have also criticised the company for airing the special.

The day after The Closer’s release, Netflix senior software engineer Terra Field posted a Twitter thread responding to the Chappelle special. On 11 October, The Verge reported that Field, who is trans, had been suspended.

“I work at Netflix. Yesterday we launched another Chappelle special where he attacks the trans community and the very validity of transness–all while trying to pit us against other marginalised groups,” she wrote. “You’re going to hear a lot of talk about ‘offence.’ We are not offended.”

Field went on to list the names of 38 trans and non-binary people who have been killed in 2021, including 30-year-old Dominique “DeDe” Jackson in Mississippi, siblings Jeffrey “JJ” Bright, 16, and Jasmine Cannady, 22 in Pennsylvania, and 24-year-old Tiara Banks in Chicago. “These are the people that a callous disregard for the lives of trans people by our society have taken from us, and they all deserved better,” she wrote.

Field and two other Netflix employees were suspended for trying to attend a meeting to which they were not invited, Netflix told The Verge. “It is absolutely untrue to say that we have suspended any employee for tweeting about this show,” a spokesperson wrote. “Our employees are encouraged to disagree openly, and we support their right to do so.” An employee at Netflix quit over issues related to the Chappelle special.

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos sent an internal email saying the company doesn’t “allow titles on Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe The Closer crosses that line.”

Chappelle slammed people for “cancelling” JK Rowling in one viral clip from The Closer that is doing the rounds on social media. “Effectually, she said gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as shit, they started calling her a TERF. I didn’t even know what the fuck that was, but I know that trans people make up words to win arguments…This is a real thing. This is a group of women that hate transgender women–they don’t hate transgender women, but they look at trans women the way we Blacks might look at blackface. It offends them. Like ‘Ugh, this bitch is doing an impression of me.’”

“Promoting TERF ideology (which is what we did by giving it a platform yesterday) directly harms trans people; it is not some neutral act,” Field wrote. “This is not an argument with two sides. It is an argument with trans people who want to be alive and people who don’t want us to be.”

Netflix and Dave Chappelle go a long way back. The comedian signed a deal to create three specials for the platform in 2016. Four years later, Netflix pulled Chappelle’s Show from its streaming service at the comedian’s request after ViacomCBS, the original rights holder, began licensing it without his permission. The show was reinstated in 2021. 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Related

Category: CultureTag: Entertainment, Netflix, Twitter

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Sidebar

Recent posts

woman sitting on purple bench

Make Space for Girls charity using the law to make parks more inclusive

Mariah Carey

A songwriter is suing Mariah Carey over All I Want For Christmas is You

Love Island

Love Island contestants to receive inclusion training

Windrush arrivals 1948

The Windrush passenger’s underground accommodations

When Caribbean migrants disembarked from the SS Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948, many of them had nowhere to live. Due to the shortage of housing in London following World …

Subscribe to never miss a post

Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Trending posts

  • Warning over illegal skin bleach
    Warning over illegal skin bleach
  • History of Notting Hill Carnival
    History of Notting Hill Carnival
  • Fitness influencers and body image: How they impact our perception
    Fitness influencers and body image: How they impact our perception
  • UK Riots of 1981
    UK Riots of 1981
Drawing of the zong massacre -slaves being tossed overboard

The Zong Massacre

Actors dressed in ku klux klan costumes in a scene from the film the birth of a nation

Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

Claudia Jones leads protest against immigration act

The Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962

Bellefield Great House

Sir Francis Kerr-Jarrett – Jamaican landowner

  • About
  • Contact us
  • Be a guest writer
  • Cookies and your privacy
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · I Rise · All Rights Reserved ·

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLACCEPT ALL
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
SAVE & ACCEPT
pixel