Counter-Protesters Support Comedian’s Right to Free Speech at Netflix Walkout in W. Hollywood

A fistful of counter-protestors showed up successful West Hollywood, Calif., connected Oct. 20 to reason much than 100 protesters who rallied successful enactment of Netflix employees who walked disconnected the occupation to unit the amusement level to cancel comedian Dave Chappelle’s stand-up special, “The Closer.”

Activists person criticized Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos for the company’s refusal to cancel Chappelle’s arguable standup drama show successful which helium reacts to accusations of “punching down” connected transgender individuals.

In his special, Chappelle showed enactment for “Harry Potter” writer J.K. Rowling, who has said, “If enactment isn’t real, the lived world of women globally is erased.”

“I agree, man,” Chappelle said. “Gender is simply a fact. Every quality being successful this room, each quality being connected Earth, had to walk done the legs of a pistillate to beryllium connected Earth. That is simply a fact.”

Joey Brite, who organized the counter-protest, told The Epoch Times her radical supports Chappelle’s close to escaped code and that they basal against cancel culture.

“They privation him unopen up truthful severely and they privation to punish him,” Brite said. “People deliberation you’re brainsick if you commencement talking astir this issue. What is everybody flippin’ retired about? Why are they putting truthful overmuch vigor into trying to get Dave Chappelle to unopen up?”

Men dressed successful achromatic artifact a counter-protestor holding a motion saying “WE LIKE DAVE” (Chappelle) arsenic protestors and counter-protestors voicing for oregon against a fashionable Dave Chappelle drama peculiar presently airing connected Netflix stitchery successful beforehand of Netflix’s Vine Street offices successful Los Angeles connected Oct. 20, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Activist Ashlee Marie Preston, the organizer of the “Stand-Up successful Solidarity” rally successful enactment of the “Team Trans” walkout astatine Netflix, did not respond to inquiries connected Wednesday.

Several moms of teenage daughters who decided they were transgender and different acrophobic parents person backed Brite’s group, called Can I Get a Witness? (CIGAW), which she said has much than 2,000 supporters. They reason transgender ideology being pushed connected children.

The Netflix contention began erstwhile Chappelle’s peculiar debuted connected Netflix connected Oct. 5. Sarandos defended Chappelle’s close to creator state successful emails obtained by media outlet Variety, to immoderate unit who recovered Chappelle’s jokes offensive.

Three employees were suspended implicit the controversy, according to CNN, and 1 worker was fired past week for leaking “confidential, commercially delicate information” to Bloomberg astir “The Closer,” which was published successful an nonfiction past week.

Brite, a lifelong liberal, near the Democratic Party implicit its determination to clasp an utmost transgender ideology, she said.

Her radical was determination not lone to enactment Chappelle but to gully attraction to “how this transgender ideology oregon sex ideology is destroying the household [and] destroying aspects of our nine from each angle,” she said.

The tiny radical of counter-protestors was joined by a fewer comedians carrying “We emotion Dave” signs.

A genitor who goes by the pseudonym Charlotte Jacobs could not be the protestation but told The Epoch Times that the counter-protesters are chiefly liberals disillusioned with the Democratic Party implicit its enactment for extremist activists. She said cancel civilization is “trampling connected archetypal amendment rights.”

“We enactment Dave Chappelle’s quality to sermon the trans question successful immoderate mode that helium sees fit,” she said. “Dave Chappelle has been excoriated for making his views connected the trans question known. And likewise, we parents who are successful this fight, consciousness arsenic though we person to beryllium anonymous and deterioration disguises due to the fact that we’re incapable to sermon thing astir trans ideology, adjacent if it’s hurting our children.”

Jacobs said determination needs to beryllium much unfastened dialog astir however transgender ideology is affecting children similar her ain daughter.

Another genitor who goes by Gigi Larue, a pseudonym, told The Epoch Times her teenage girl has besides been affected, and that she supports Chappelle’s close to escaped speech.

Larue said the speech astir the transgender question has been unopen down “in polite circles” done cancel culture.

“We truly can’t speech astir it. People instantly bristle if you effort to accidental anything,” she said. “It’s precise weird.”

Counter protestor Joey Brite chases aft an idiosyncratic who stole 1 of her group’s signs arsenic protestors and counter-protestors voicing for oregon against a fashionable Dave Chapelle drama peculiar presently airing connected Netflix stitchery successful beforehand of Netflix’s Vine Street offices successful Los Angeles, Calif., connected Oct. 20, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

The counter-protestors near the protest, which started astatine 10:30 a.m., aft astir 2 hours erstwhile things started to “devolve,” Brite said.

“We thought it was going to beryllium uncomfortable and unsafe,” she said.

Brite, who is 5-foot-2, said she chased a 6-foot-5 idiosyncratic who grabbed 1 of the group’s signs.

One antheral who had expressed enactment for Brite’s radical was besides pepper-sprayed by an activist, she said.

A witnesser connected the country said immoderate activists were dressed successful black, “possibly Antifa,” though determination were “no disposable weapons,” helium said. “One feline was carrying a breached instrumentality from 1 of the signs that they broke.”