So that’s why Netflix told Dave Chappelle’s critics to pound sand.
Chappelle’s late 2021 special “The Closer” pushed him to the edge of cancellation. The comedian’s riffs on the trans community enraged the Left and the media (but we repeat ourselves), threatening Chappelle’s reign as comedy’s biggest star.
Netflix employees picketed their company. Think pieces excoriated Chappelle for telling the “wrong” jokes, ignoring how he honored a trans comedian at the end of the special.
It looked like Cancel Culture would have another scalp soon enough.
Except Netflix brass took a stand.
“If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you.”
That message targeted upset employees, but it also echoed throughout Hollywood. Netflix may still cater to the woke crowd with originals like “He’s Expecting” and “Damsel,” and Hannah Gadsby will always have a home on the platform.
It won’t silence rebellious content, either. And now we know why.
Deadline reports, or rather buries in a story tied to rising star Matt Rife, that unwoke comics sell. Big time.
The far-Left news site shares that Rife’s “Natural Selection” Netflix special was its most-watched comedy event of 2023. The show generated 13.5 million hours viewed.
That’s impressive for a comedian who hasn’t been highlighted on “Saturday Night Live” or worked the late-night TV circuit. He’s a creation of comedy clubs and the digital landscape, the latter fueling many (most?) new comedy stars.
Plus, the Cancel Culture mob protested “Natural Selection” for a ribald joke Rife told early in the set.
“And my boy who I was with was like: ‘Yeah, I feel bad for her, man. I feel like they should put her in the kitchen or something where nobody has to see her face, ya know?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, but I feel like if she could cook, she wouldn’t have that black eye…
I figure we start the show with domestic violence, the rest of the show should be pretty smooth sailing after that.”
Netflix didn’t flinch after the usual suspects decried the joke. Nor did Rife, who mocked those “offended” by the material.
“If you’ve ever been offended by a joke I’ve told — here’s a link to my official apology.” The link on the post directed to a website selling helmets for people with special needs.
That’s as unwoke as it gets. And there’s more.
Deadline shares shocking Netflix numbers for two other comedy giants.
[Ricky Gervais’] Armageddon from The Office creator was released on Christmas Day and was watched for 8.4M hours before the end of December, while [Dave] Chappelle’s special [‘The Dreamer’] was released on December 31 – the last day of the tracking period – and still managed to be watched for 2.1M hours in one day.
What do they have in common?
Gervais and Chappelle routinely push the envelope with their gags. Chappelle hasn’t stopped sharing “offensive” material on his specials. Gervais not only savages the woke mob but tells jokes he’s not “supposed” to tell.
Sans apology.
All three unwoke comics have been in the Left’s crosshairs and lived to tell the tale. Even better? They draw huge ratings, protecting them from potential cancellation.
Netflix is responding to the marketplace and remains the most economically viable streamer in a challenging Biden economy. And there’s more on the way.
Netflix will be bringing two new Rife specials to its platform and a comedy series.
For now, fans of rebel comedy can enjoy another show by a canceled comic.
The platform just released “Tires,” a six-episode comedy series from Shane Gillis, infamously fired by “Saturday Night Live” for telling offensive jokes.
Oh, and Gillis’ Netflix special “Beautiful Dogs” racked up 10.6M hours viewed on the platform.
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