Ghostbusters star Dan Aykroyd shared his thoughts on cancel culture as it pertains to comedy in light of recent events.
"There is enough range in humor where you don’t have to go scatological and you don’t have to go pulling any divisive cards to get a laugh," Aykroyd told THR. "There is so much in the world to comment on that is outside the realm of offensiveness. As a writer, you can go to other areas and have successful creative endeavors. Scatological humor is fun. It’s easy laughs. But there is more intelligent writing that can happen if you stay away from the offensive material that should be rightly canceled for its hurtfulness. Who can be the subject of an impression today? That’s an area of discussion. Can I do my James Brown imitation? He was one of my best friends. I do his voice pretty good. But maybe I shouldn’t anymore."
Aykroyd, who became a comedy icon in the 1970s on Saturday Night Live, issued these remarks following the controversy surrounding comedian Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix stand-up special, The Closer. In it, Chappelle delivered a series of scathing jokes directed at the trans community, including calling them thin-skinned, declaring that "gender is a fact" and taking the side of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling on "Team TERF!"
"Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long-standing deal with him … As with our other talent, we work hard to support their creative freedom -- even though this means there will always be content on Netflix some people believe is harmful, like Cuties, 365 Days, 13 Reasons Why or My Unorthodox Life," Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in response to the backlash over The Closer.
In the time since The Closer's release, neither Chappelle nor Sarandos have backed down from their original stances. Following a massive walkout of Netflix employees, Chappelle issued a statement of his own on Instagram, saying, "It’s been said in the press that I was invited to speak to the transgender employees of Netflix and I refused. That is not true. If they had invited me, I would have accepted it, although I am confused about what we would be speaking about. I said what I said, and boy, I heard what you said. My God, how could I not? You said you want a safe working environment at Netflix. It seems like I’m the only one who can’t go to the office. “I am not bending to anyone’s demands. And if you want to meet with me, I am more than willing to, but I have some conditions. First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing at a time of my choosing, and thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.
"I want everyone in this audience to know that even though the media frames it that it’s me versus that community, that’s not what it is," he continued. "Do not blame the LGBTQ community for any of this. It’s about corporate interests, and what I can say, and what I cannot say. For the record, and I need you to know this, everyone I know from that community has been loving and supportive, so I don’t know what this nonsense is about."
Source: THR