Stand-Up Comedian Sampson McCormick says the Black LGBT Community Is Not Bothered by Dave Chappelle
Share
Comedian Sampson McCormick sat down with Comedy Hype for a very special interview regarding Dave Chappelle’s The Closer special on Netflix.
Gay Black Comedian Reviews Dave Chappelle’s ‘The Closer’: “Gay White Rac… https://t.co/BexVFcN8cB via @YouTube
— Comedy Hype (@ComedyHype_) October 23, 2021
“This current very heated discussion about Dave Chappelle has been created to pit the Black gay community against the larger Black community,” McCormick says at one point underscoring his primary concern.
But Sampson makes very clear that there have always been two different discussions in America.
View this post on Instagram
Having been a pioneering Black gay stand-up for over 20 years, McCormick is precisely aware of the territory he’s navigating here. When he was starting his career, it was towards the end of the Def Jam Comedy era, so he’s seen progress he says, “I’m happy to represent my community and to be part of this conversation.”
McCormick’s analysis is laser sharp and spot on, he begins with the joke about Da Baby. If you listen closely to that clip he’s highlighting the difference in how Black folks receive justice and how the gay community receive justice. And it’s a very valid point, If you look at it like a Black gay person, it’s just real. And he’s very explicitly addressing gay white racism, which is real, and the fact that he’s aware of it as a straight Black man that he’s aware of the racism in the gay community says a lot about his intentions.”
McCormick concludes by saying if there’s one thing he thinks should be the takeaway for the larger Black community is for them to understand that even if they may not understand queer experiences, that for Black gay men, Black transgender women, etc. that they are Black first before anything else.
McCormick followed up with a text where he said: “As far as black LGBTQ voices that are effective at having the type of conversations that build bridges, it’s not that we don’t exist and haven’t been around for just as long as anyone else; it’s we often a different set of challenges as artists, activists and politicians when it comes to getting the exposure needed to be righteously seen and heard. Folks should be less concerned with being offended by what they don’t like, and supporting those of us in media who are black LGBTQ entertainers and public servants.”
Watch the interview below.
Sampson McCormick is a stand-up comedian. He is the co-executive producer of the the movie adaptation of author James E. Hardy’s novel B-Boy Blues directed by Jussie Smollet.
B-Boy Blues will premiere next month at The American Black Film Festival.
View this post on Instagram
