Did Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais really sink to new depths?

Social media says their new specials are “punching down” fests that are both cruel and unfunny. But who are the real targets of their jokes?

When's the last time you saw a comedian go viral because people liked their special? Exactly. F*** rage bait, the algorithm, and everything it's doing to our culture.

But fine, let’s talk about Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais. Conventional wisdom on social media is their new specials are “punching down” fests that are both cruel and unfunny.

Here’s a review from The Guardian: ”Unfunny business: Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais sink to new depths.”

These bits offer no insight, and in many of their longer-winded passages, scarcely contain anything that could be classified as a joke. These once-esteemed talents formerly dedicated to puncturing racial tensions or hollow pieties now argue only for the unfairness of their own persecution, and their bravery in resisting it. This is Crank Comedy.

And here’s a representative take from a guy named David Myers:

I agree with George Carlin when he said that anything and anyone can be the butt of the joke; but what these two are doing aren't jokes. It's immature grievance and sanctimonious lecturing. I find it almost ironic, considering how they claim to hate how sensitive people are, that the basis of their grievances and lectures is being offended by what they've read online. People can't say shit without these types going off about "woke!" The edginess is contrived and they are crybabies.

If you’re looking for the comedic version of this p.o.v., see this James Acaster bit:

And I get it. I watched the Chappelle special and thought, “Again with jokes about trans people?” I’m over it and want him to use his brilliant comedic mind to tackle something new.

And re: Gervais, I now tend to tune out as soon as someone uses the word woke multiple times. We all know instantly what’s coming next (a terrible trait for good comedy). Plus, the “sweetened” laughs sure did feel over the top. [Sips beer. Huge laugh.]

Who’s the target?

So while I think it’s fine to criticize these guys, one thing I almost never see in these discussions is the idea that the target of their jokes isn’t actually trans people, the disabled, or whomever else they seem to be mocking.

I mean, it’s possible they’re both hateful, out-of-touch, lazy millionaires surrounded by yes men who simply love showering arenas with untethered cruelty for the sake of easy laughs. But given these guys made two of the best and most insightful comedy shows of this century, I have a tough time believing that’s really who they are deep down – or that it’s the only way for them to get laughs.

I wish these critics would consider the target for these jokes may not actually be trans/disabled people, but rather those who constantly posture on social media, perform moral superiority, and attack others in order to big up themselves as ethical superheroes. Do these comedians really hate marginalized folks? Or is their real target the culture of victimhood and white knighting that increasingly surrounds us? Because that totally seems like fair game.

Again, I’m not saying these are great specials or the jokes in ‘em are super funny. I just feel like if we’re going to obsess over the target of these jokes, we ought to do it accurately. If you’re the type that posts about how terrible these guys are for targeting marginalized communities and the supposed violence that will ensue because of them, take a moment to consider the butt of these jokes may not be the victimized people you think you are defending – maybe the target of them is YOU and others who publicly perform piousness.

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An inevitable backlash

Lately, our various timelines read like outrage Mad Libs…

Um, huh?

So it feels ripe to mock the absurdity of it all. Heck, you can’t scroll online anymore without feeling like you’re drowning in a sea of traumabragging where disorders are the new accomplishments.

Got Lexapro?

The more this hypersensitivity starts to feel like the dominant strain in our culture (it’s not just social media, it’s also academia, HR, DEI, mainstream media, late night TV, etc.), the more it makes sense for comedians to mock it – especially those who don’t have to worry about toeing the line for advertisers.

It feels reductive to argue that all jokes about trans people are toxic, without merit, and straight men behaving badly. After all, plenty of gay people are iffy on the queer social justice movement. For example: In ”The Queers Versus The Homosexuals,” Andrew Sullivan argues, from a gay man’s perspective, that queer activists have gone too far – and that a backlash was inevitable.

When you examine the other issues at stake — public schools teaching the concepts of queer and gender theory to kindergartners on up, sex changes for children before puberty, the housing of biological males with women in prisons and rape shelters, and biological males competing with women in sports — you realize we are far beyond what the gay rights movement once stood for. It’s these initiatives from the far left that are new; and the backlash is quite obviously a reaction to the capture of the gay rights movement by queer social justice activists.

These activists, marinated in critical gender and queer theory, have picked several unnecessary fights and, especially since the convulsions of 2020, have pushed and pushed a woke revolution until a dangerous backlash was inevitable.

When you’re pushing a revolution and winning, people will have something to say about it. Given these activists’ increasing power and impact on society, it’s natural for comedians to want to rib them. Anyone who gets to dictate what we can/can’t say or do should expect to get roasted a bit. After all, that’s part of the territory when you make huge cultural gains. Welcome to the party.

Gaining power while simultaneously declaring anyone who mocks you to be cruelly guilty of punching down feels like trying to have it all. Midwestern dads now say all eight (!) syllables in LGBTQIA+. The word “women” now includes people with 🍆s and 🏀s. What a shift! Of course comics will decide to crack jokes about all that. Again, I’m not saying these jokes are automatically artful or good – but let’s admit the power dynamic around all this can be slippery.

“Humorists and activists have two very different mentalities. Activists are very sincere, very positive. That’s how activists should be. Humorists are supposed to look at everything and see the bullshit in all sides.”
-Colin Quinn

Fair game

I’d love to see critics of Chappelle/Gervais let us know what kind of trans jokes they are okay with comedians making. Because if the answer is none, that seems rather humorless.

Below are some bits around queer issues with surprising punchlines. To me, that’s the key. Make ‘em good jokes with a legit turn instead of the same ol’ same ol’ pronoun/”identify” lines we’ve all heard before.

author

17K views · 2.1K likes | Chad Daniels on Instagram: “Everyone is more alike than we think… TEMPE IMPROV JAN 12&13
SPRINGFIELD MO BLUE ROOM JAN 26&27
BRICKTOWN COMEDY OKC FEB 2&3
#comedy #politics #rainbow #standup #reels”

January 8, 2024

In a recent piece, transgender writer Parker Malloy (who argued in favor of that Sam Morril bit above) argues there’s a difference between good and bad jokes about trans people.

Comedians should tell their jokes, even if they offend people. Absolutely. But actually put some thought into the jokes! Make them original! Make them unique! If your trans jokes are all variations on “They’re deceptive! They’re crazy! They’re disgusting!” and you’re forgetting to insert the actual joke, then maybe this is about something deeper than being an “equal opportunity offender” and part of some twisted personal grudge you have.

Sounds reasonable.

The nuance dance

Social media tends to reduce everything to a Luke/Darth binary (e.g. “Dave hates trans people!”) when the truth is more nuanced. There can be funny jokes about trans people because there can be funny jokes about anyone. And while that’s true, it’s also true that comics who tell lazy punchlines that could have been tweeted by Ted Cruz should think twice before they start kvetching about how lame people are because they don’t laugh at ‘em. Sometimes it’s not that you’re being cancelled, it’s just that your jokes aren’t funny.

We can want to protect trans people from harm while also recognizing how precious, easily-offended, and elitist many of their defenders seem. Likewise, Hollywood celebs may argue for noble causes, but they also deserve to get roasted by the South Park guys for being out-of-touch dilettantes (See: Team America).

You can be a good person while also deriding the smug moral condescension that feels like the dominant mode online, in academia, on late night TV, and from HR departments. Given their power over society, mocking the people who create those environments might just be the punching up those same folks like to argue is the only “correct” way to do standup comedy.

And to go back to where this piece started: Since social media is fueled by outrage, maybe the smartest way to do standup now is to tell jokes that everyone fights about in the comments. In that case, Chappelle and Gervais seem like they’re right on the money. And cashing in big time.

After all, there’s nothing the algorithm loves more than when we fight.

Related:

The problem with punching up and punching down

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Quickies

🎯 Split a can of Pamplemousse seltzer with two other people. I call that a “menage La Croix.”

🎯 I am a proud Zionist (i.e. someone who still believes Zion Williamson will make an all-NBA team).

🎯 I just plagiarized my accusations of plagiarism. Didn’t wanna be left out!

🎯 No one get angrier about plagiarism than people who never read.

🎯 Food trend pieces are wild. Always promising the next big thing gonna be stuff like:

• water sommeliers

• beer soup

• hot utensil: spoons

• sweet and sour pork martinis

• quinoa smoothies

• deer urine donuts

🎯 I smoked weed and bet on sports back when those things were sinful instead of our last hope for the economy.

🎯 Controversial NYC opinion: Katz’ Deli sucks. I don’t need 7 stories of pastrami. I’ll have what she’s having…if it’s a normal-sized sandwich somewhere else!

🎯 Someone needs to make a show where Gen Z kids learn what that "The Rules" book told women to do in the 90's. Gonna blow their minds.

🎯 Fringe far right conspiracy theorists may get the facts wrong, but they get the sense of victimization and anger right. And if there's one thing I've learned from relationships, it's that feelings matter way more than facts.

🎯 PEOPLE IN THE MIDWEST: boring • nice • 10 pounds heavier
PEOPLE IN NYC: interesting • a**holes • 10 times more depressed

🎯 Fans are just stalkers who pay you to put up with it.

🎯 Cracks me up that anyone ever does one of those "Internet: vote on this" things since it always ends up in some boat being named "Poopy McPoopenstein." Makes me realize why we have the Electoral College. Something needs to stop people from having a direct vote.

🎯 Still can't get over how ugly that cybertruck is. Also, the name cybertruck. These dorks really need to let a woman into the room when they decide stuff.

🎯 Truly astounding that "one of these candidates wants to be a dictator" won't be an issue because it doesn't poll well. It feels like America is doing a FanDuel bet where we're like "3:1 odds that Trump won't REALLY pull off a dictatorship" and we're betting our democracy on it. 🤞

🎯 Felt rich might declare bankruptcy later.

🎯 The internet unbundled everything, including cable, news, and the USA.

🎯 We've never seen this much ignorance presented this confidently before. And I know because I'm a moron who's positive he's right.

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Comedy

🃏 I post clips of my standup (and more) at Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and YouTube.

🃏 Check out my other newsletter that’s all about the craft of doing standup: Funny How: Letters to a Young Comedian.

2/10 headlining in Morris Plains, NJ. Tickets.

🎟️ NYC SHOWS
1/9 Hot Soup @ Comedy Cellar (FBP)
1/10 Good Eggs @ NY Comedy Club (EV)
1/11 Comedy Under Artichoke (Bklyn)
1/12 Old Man Hustle (Bklyn)
1/16 Hot Soup @ Comedy Cellar (FBP)
1/17 Good Eggs @ NY Comedy Club (EV)
1/18 Mood Board @ Gospel

🎟️ ROAD SHOWS (HEADLINING)
2/10 Comedy Dojo (Morris Plains, NJ)
3/2 Priam Vineyard (Colchester, CT)
4/19 Comedy House NOLA (New Orleans)
4/26 Cheshire Craft Brewery (Cheshire, CT)

🎟️ Ticket info

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Thanks for reading. Leave a comment or shoot me an email if you’ve got thoughts. Would love to hear ‘em.

-Matt