MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Dave Chappelle controversy: Channing Tatum told to 'STFU' for 'supporting' comedian

Channing Tatum appeared to support the comedian while also criticizing him for hurting many people

Channing Tatum sparked uproar on social media after he gave his two cents on the controversy involving Dave Chapelle and his latest comedy special that featured 'transphobic' jokes.

The Hollywood star, 41, appeared to support the veteran comedian, 48, after his recent Netflix special 'The Closer' was said to target trans people. However, Tatum also acknowledged that Chappelle had "hurt so many people with the things he has said". Following the outrage over the comedy special, however, Chappelle has remained unfettered and even publicly declared, "If this is what being canceled is like, I love it."

RELATED ARTICLES

Dave Chappelle says 'f**k Twitter' after being canceled for trans jokes on show

Is Channing Tatum dating Zoe Kravitz? Duo strengthen romance rumors with cozy bike ride in NYC

The 'Magic Mike' star chimed in on the subject on his Instagram Stories on Sunday, October 18. He shared a video of the comedian talking onstage and wrote alongside his thoughts on the controversial piece. Tatum acknowledged that he was asking for trouble by discussing Chapelle. "I understand that Dave is a very dangerous person to talk about at the moment. I understand and hate that he has hurt so many people with the things he has said," he wrote. "Any human can hurt someone (usually cause they're hurt) but any human can heal and heal others just the same. This little piece healed me back in the day. I can't forget that."

The "little piece" was a video posted by DL Hughley who captioned it, "#SundayService courtesy of my brother Dave Chappelle." It showed the comedian speaking at the Kennedy Center while accepting the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2019. In the clip, Chapelle says, "I was a soft kid. I was sensitive, I'd cry easy and I would be scared to fist-fight. My mother used to tell me this thing, 'son, sometimes you have to be a lion so you can be the lamb you really are.'"

The camera then cuts to his mother who appears to mouth along with him every word. "I talk this s**t like a lion. I'm not afraid of any of you. When it comes word to word, I will gab with the best of them, just so I can chill and be me," Chapelle continues. "And that's why I love my art form, because I understand every practitioner of it. Whether I agree with them or not, I know where they're coming from. They want to be heard. They've got something to say. There's something they noticed. They just want to be understood. I loved this genre. It saved my life," he adds.

Tatum finished the post by saying, "This does not excuse anything hurtful tho to be clear."

However, his mixed-messaging drew the ire of both fans as wells critics of Chappelle. "Did Dave Chappelle need Channing Tatum to defend him or does Tatum just want to broadcast his allegiance to TERFS?" one asked on Twitter. "You didn't and shouldn't have said a word. Comedy isn't your art. Acting barely is. Take this moment to #STFU," another added.

"You know what? Thank God! It was about time! The second the Dave Chapelle special dropped, my first IMMEDIATE thought was "I wonder what Channing Tatum will have to say about this?" Channing's silence until this point was deafening," a comment read. "Channing Tatum praises & scolds Dave Chappelle at the same time saying he has done great work but has hurt many people. This is the "everyone deserves a trophy" crowd who constantly complain about hurt feelings. Not everyone gets a trophy. Grow up & learn how to take a joke," another chimed in.