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Dave Chappelle's work with Netflix is far from over despite the overwhelming amount of backlash he received following the release of his controversial "Closer" special late last year.
The embattled comedian will host and produce four upcoming comedy specials as a part of a collection titled "Chappelle's Home Team," the streamer announced.
The "Netflix is a Joke" Twitter account confirmed the project on its Twitter account on Friday along with a video of Chappelle discussing the gig.
"Chappelle’s Home Team is a series of comedy specials produced by @DaveChappelle. The first one, Earthquake: Legendary, premieres February 28th! @DaveChappelle @RealEarthquake," the tweet reads.
"What's up, everybody? It's me, Dave at home in Ohio, and I'm very excited to announce February 28 I drop the first of the Home Team specials, my man from Washington D.C., Earthquake, in his first Netflix special. Legendary. Please tune in the last day of Black History Month so we can make one more day of history. Let's go," Chappelle says alongside Earthquake.
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A second episode will reportedly feature comedian Donnell Rawlings, and two more comics are set to appear in the two that will follow.
News of the specials produced by Chappelle comes a couple of months after the streamer announced a new 11-day stand-up comedy festival titled "Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival," in Los Angeles featuring over 130 artists, including the Emmy-winning comedian.
"It's absolutely thrilling for Netflix to be hosting a comedy festival of this magnitude in Los Angeles,'' Robbie Praw, director, stand-up and comedy formats, Netflix, said in a press release. "We were so disappointed to postpone the event last spring and our lineup of comedians can't wait to bring much needed laughs to audiences in LA and around the world on Netflix. ‘Netflix Is A Joke Festival’ is going to give comedy fans the opportunity to see the greats and discover new voices in one of the greatest cities in the world."
Chappelle landed in hot water when "The Closer" first aired on Oct. 1.
His remarks about the transgender community raised protests within Netflix and from activists. About 30 Netflix workers staged an Oct. 20 walkout and joined a rally at Netflix offices in Los Angeles.
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Comedian Dave Chappelle landed in hot water for his controversial remarks made in his Netflix special "The Closer." (AP Photo/Steve Marcus, File)
Netflix ran into a buzz-saw of criticism not only with the special but in how internal memos responded to employees’ concerns, including co-CEO Ted Sarandos’ assertion that "content on screen doesn’t directly translate to real-world harm."
At the time, Sarandos also wrote that Netflix doesn’t allow titles that are "designed to incite hate or violence, and we don’t believe ‘The Closer’ crosses that line."
The exec later apologized for his comments and said he failed to recognize that "a group of our employees was really hurting," he told The Wall Street Journal, and that his comment about the effect of TV on viewers was an oversimplification.
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A spokesperson for Netflix told FOX Business before the employee walkout, "We value our trans colleagues and allies, and understand the deep hurt that’s been caused. We respect the decision of any employee who chooses to walk out, and recognize we have much more work to do both within Netflix and in our content."
The streamer also lost "Dear White People" showrunner Jaclyn Moore, who decided to stop working with the streaming giant as a result of the special. Now it faces continued backlash from both the public and its employees.
A counter protester talks with a demonstrator at a rally in support of the Netflix transgender employee walkout "Stand Up in Solidarity" to protest the streaming of comedian Dave Chappelle's new comedy special, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 20 2021. (Reuters/Mario Anzuoni)
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Around that time it was also announced that an employee was fired for allegedly sharing "confidential, commercially sensitive information outside the company," a Netflix spokesperson previously told FOX Business.
In his special, Chappelle dedicates a significant portion to mocking the previous backlash he’s received for comments made about the LGBTQ+ community. Specifically, he targets transgender people, going as far as to declare himself "Team TERF," an acronym that stands for "trans-exclusionary radical feminist." The term was previously applied to "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling over comments she made excluding transgender women from conversations about feminism.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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