Dave Chappelle Resents Republicans for Weaponizing His Transgender Jokes

Dave Chappelle, arbiter of transgender jokes, called out Republicans for inefficiently biting his style in a new interview with NPR. On the Newsmakers program hosted by Michel Martin, Chappelle accused the political party of weaponizing the divisive comedic format that he’s now become known for.

“I did resent that the Republican Party ran on transgender jokes,” Chappelle said. “You know, I felt like they were doing a weaponized version of what I was doing. That’s not what I was doing.” Chappelle went on to give an example of an incident that occurred when he was on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., when “everybody ran up to take pictures with [him] from every congressional office.” “And I just take pictures with whoever asked. I didn’t ask how they vote or what their voting record is. At first, it was CBC people. Then here comes Lauren Boebert and she said, ‘Can I get a picture?’”

“And I had already taken 40 pictures,” Chappelle continued. “I didn’t want to say no in front of everybody, but I didn’t know the phrase ‘I respectfully decline.’ So I just took the picture. And then she posted the picture before I could even get from there to the show and says something to the effect of, ‘Just two people that know that it’s just two genders.’ Just instantly, like, weaponized or politicized. So I got to the arena, and I lit her ass up for doing that. And she should never do that to a person like me.”

When asked by NPR whether or not Donald Trump is “funny,” Chappelle, who often avoids talking about politics on the record, didn’t denounce or applaud the president’s behavior. “Maybe if he wasn’t president, I’d think that was funny,” he said. “Or maybe at times… I do think, you know, that that’s wearing thin. There are funny things about him. Like, if I were to talk about him, it would be funny. But I think what he does is so consequential and so much of these things, you know, in my lifetime, I’ve never really seen a phenomenon quite like him. I’m not trying to be political, but it’s remarkable. I don’t know. I don’t know how funny it is.”

The NPR conversation also covered Chappelle’s controversial decision to headline the 2025 Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia. “The United States government does business with the Saudis,” Chappelle said. “Netflix does business with the Saudis. Everyone, the Saudis financed tons of movies. I see them financing boxing matches and all these things and none of these things were an issue until I went there. Now why is that? As soon as a Black man can make money off the plantation they try to tell you that the money is dirty… Where is this clean money coming from?”

The conversation reiterated Chappelle’s statement at last year’s Riyadh Comedy Festival that “it’s easier to talk here than it is in America.” In his latest Netflix special, Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable…, Chappelle mentioned he was nearly canceled in the US for his jokes about the trans community. “But I’ve gotta tell you something — transgender jokes went over very well in Saudi Arabia.”