Legendary rocker Carlos Santana seemed to join forces with comedian Dave Chappelle in an inspirational speech during a concert in which he said there are only two genders.
Santana, a Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer whose band of the same name has sold over 100 million worldwide, made the comments at a show in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“When God created you and me before we came out of the womb, you know who you are and what you are,” he said between songs.
“Later on, as you grow beyond that, you see things and you start believing that you could be something that sounds good, but you know it’s not right.” Because a woman is a woman and a man is a man . That’s it.’
He added, ‘Whatever you want to do in the closet, that’s up to you.’ That’s fine with me.’
Legendary rocker Carlos Santana appeared to ally himself with comedian Dave Chappelle in a brief speech about transgender issues
“I’m like this with my brother Dave Chappelle,” he added at the concert last month, citing the comedian, who himself has often caused controversy with his comments about transgender people.
When contacted by Billboard for comment, Santana only appeared to partially address the remarks.
“This is my personal goal that I want to achieve every day.” I want to honor and respect the ideals and beliefs of all people, regardless of whether they are LGBTQ or not. “This is the planet of free will and we have all received this gift.”
“I will now pursue this goal of being happy and having fun and making sure everyone believes what they want without fear and follows it in their hearts,” he added.
“It takes courage to grow and shine in the light that you are and to be true, genuine and authentic.” We grow and learn to shine our light with love and compliments. Live a glorious existence. Peace.’
No context was given as to why Santana said what he said when recorded.
Chappelle sparked backlash for material in his Netflix comedy special The Closer in 2021 that some in the LGBTQ+ community said mocked transgender people. His supporters saw it as an outcry against the demolition culture.
Santana, a Rock N’ Roll Hall of Famer whose band of the same name has sold over 100 million worldwide, made the comments at a show in Atlantic City
“I feel the same way about my brother Dave Chappelle,” he added, quoting the comedian, who himself has often caused controversy with his comments about transgender people
His show at the First Avenue Club in Minneapolis in July 2022 was canceled after the venue apologized to the booking community and vowed to keep the club a “safe place”.
“I guess they had apparently made a promise to the general public that they would make their club a safe place for all people and ban anything they deem transphobic,” Chappelle said on the podcast. “That’s a wild stance for an arts venue, especially one that’s historically been a punk rock venue.”
Chappelle sparked furor last year after the release of “The Closer” in October, which included remarks about the transgender community and prompted quick backlash from offended viewers and even staff at Netflix, which has aired a number of specials of the comic in recent years .
Backlash included a staged strike by employees at Netflix’s Los Angeles headquarters after the streaming giant’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, defended Chappelle’s jokes as artistic expression and nothing more than an example of the comedian’s “creative freedom”.
The special even drew a reaction from transgender star Caitlyn Jenner, who also defended the comedian for his comments.
Chappelle’s show at the First Avenue Club in Minneapolis in July was cancelled, the venue apologized to the community for booking it and vowed to keep the club a “safe space”.
Chappelle said, “I guess they had apparently made a promise to the general public that they would make their club a safe place for all people and ban anything they deemed transphobic.” “That’s a wild stance for an arts venue, especially.” for one that is historically a punk rock venue.”
When Chappelle’s show was moved to the Varsity Theater, large groups of protesters crowded outside the venue and turned violent
A protester holds up a sign outside the Varsity Theater urging ‘queerphobes’ to go home
On the special, Chappelle also jokes that women view trans women the same way blacks would view white women with black faces.
He also joked that since Jenner won Glamor magazine’s Woman of the Year award in 2015, women have a right to be angry at trans women.
“I’d be mad as hell if I were a woman,” Chappelle says sarcastically in a part deemed problematic.
The star also joked about trans women’s anatomy, joking that they lack real female reproductive organs and that instead of having blood, they have “beet juice.”
He joked, “Every human being in this room, every human being on Earth, had to walk through a woman’s legs to be on Earth.” That’s a fact.’
The comedian, who has continued to produce content for Netflix despite backlash over the past year, has since refused to defend his comments, saying they were clearly made in jest, while citing his status as a standup comedian – a job , who agrees is likely to often offend at least some.
When Chappelle appeared on SNL in November, he declined to discuss his controversial jokes, instead devoting the first part of his monologue to Kanye West’s recent anti-Semitic remarks
After announcing that Chappelle would be hosting, SNL non-binary writer Celeste Yim posted this on her Instagram
This increasingly politically correct climate has since become a distinct theme in Chappelle’s material – although his sets in particular, though still steeped in his typically wry observations, have been toned down markedly since The Closer.
Appearing on SNL in November, he declined to talk about anything related to his jokes and sparked controversy – but seemed comfortable with his material, which largely centered on issues defying lingering stereotypes – anti-Semitic and otherwise. underpin, somewhat awkwardly allude to it .
It was Chappelle’s third overall appearance on the show, following his appearance in 2016 and his return to the show in 2020, during an episode in which he harshly criticized then-ousted President Trump after that year’s presidential election.
Prior to that appearance, SNL staffers, who seemed still upset about the comic’s earlier material, threatened to boycott the episode — but ultimately didn’t follow through on those threats.
One took to Instagram to argue “transphobia is murder and should be condemned” after Chappelle’s performance was announced, while others were rumored to be furious that the showrunners had chosen the controversial comedian.
THE DAVE CHAPPELLE ‘TRANSPHOBIC’ CONTROVERSY THAT STARTED ON NETFLIX SHOW ‘THE CLOSER’
Dave Chappelle became a target of the woke mob in 2021 after appearing in a Netflix stand-up special called The Closer.
He joked that like JK Rowling, who was angered by her opinion on the issue, he too was a “TERF” — a trans exclusionary radical feminist.
Chappelle had also claimed that gender was a “fact.”
He was gutted by activists who called for a boycott, claiming he was “harmful” to them.
However, many in the trans community said they had no problem with the jokes and that the fake outrage was largely fueled by cisgender people.
Among those who jumped to Chappelle’s side were the family of the late trans comedian Daphne Dorman, who took her own life in 2019.
“Daphne was in awe of Dave’s kindness.
“She didn’t find his jokes rude, gross, obnoxious, repulsive, nothing at all.” She found his jokes funny. Daphne understood humor and comedy – she was not offended. Why should her family be offended?’
“Dave loved my sister and is an LGBTQ ally.” “His entire group was begging for an end to this very situation,” her family said.
Chappelle later offered to meet with critics and Netflix employees who had complained about the show.
“The press said I was invited to speak to transgender staff at Netflix and I declined.”
‘That is not true. If they had invited me, I would have accepted, although I don’t know what we’re talking about,” he said.