Why Is Patton Oswalt In Such Hot Water Over Dave Chappelle?
It's pretty rare to see beloved actor Patton Oswalt do anything to make people mad — which is why we were so surprised to see him in hot water because of a connection to Dave Chappelle. But hot water he is in, so much so that he took to Instagram to offer a (very long) apology and explanation.
The reason Chappelle is such a third-rail of a celebrity right now comes after his latest controversial Netflix special, "The Closer." In the special, Chappelle made jokes about trans people, which were widely viewed as transphobic, essentially doubling down on the jokes he was criticized for in his last Netflix special. Unlike Oswalt, following the backlash, Chappelle did not offer an apology. Instead, he doubled down on his double-down, and denied doing anything to be apologetic for, according to The Wrap.
So, where does Oswalt come in? Surely he's never said anything that could be considered transphobic, right?
Patton Oswalt says Chappelle has been his friend for 34 years
You're right in assuming that Patton Oswalt has not repeated or endorsed jokes Dave Chappelle made that were considered transphobic. What Oswalt did do was to post pictures of himself with the controversial comedian, after they performed together on-stage in Seattle, per TMZ. "I waved good-bye to this hell-year with a genius I started comedy with 34 years ago. He works an arena like he's talking to one person and charming their skin off," Oswalt wrote on Instagram.
But not everyone was charmed, it appears, and Oswalt immediately received a mountain of backlash. Rather than brush the criticisms off, Oswalt decided to address them directly in a second Instagram post. In this one, Oswalt wrote that he and Chappelle have been friends for 34 years, and that while he disagrees with Chappelle's position on trans rights now, he believes that Chappelle may learn to evolve. But Oswalt also acknowledged that the issue isn't always black-and-white. "I'm an LGBTQ ally. I'm a loyal friend. There's friction in those traits that I need to reconcile myself, and not let cause feels of betrayal in ANYONE else. And I'm sorry, truly sorry, that I didn't consider the hurt this would cause," Oswalt wrote.
No one is perfect, not even Patton Oswalt. But as he rightly concluded in his post, "So easy to think someone ELSE needs growth and miss the need in yourself. Gonna keep trying."