Dave Chappelle has always been a controversial comedian. His recent comedy special, The Closer, is no different. The special, released on October 5th, contains hateful comments which cannot be tolerated. These comments question the science behind gender and amplify overtly transphobic views on identity. For example, in one segment, he defends JK Rowling for her past hateful comments and calls himself team TERF.

With Trans Day of Remembrance being November 20th, I am reminded of the individuals lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. Trans individuals are at higher risk of dying by suicide or by transphobic violence. They are more likely to be homeless or experience aggression at work. Questioning trans identity is categorically transphobic. These words have negative repercussions by making communities feel lesser than and by emboldening followers to attack marginalized groups. It does not matter if the context of the speech is a TV show or a stand-up routine. A supposed joke containing hateful speech is just that, hateful. And no one is laughing.