Marlon Wayans may be the father of a transgender son, but he says he has no qualms about maintaining a friendship with fellow comedian Dave Chappelle, whose penchant for making trans people the butt of his jokes has been the source of major controversy over the years.
In an interview with Variety published Monday, Wayans says he “wouldn’t hang with Dave if he was full of hate,” noting, “I know Dave’s heart, and his intention isn’t to punch down.”
“As a comedian, I respect his journey. And as a friend, I respect his journey. And for my child, I respect their journey,” he explained. “And as the father of my child, I can appropriate my feelings toward my friend and my feelings toward my child, and how we can put those two things together and I can explain both sides. I’m between them, so I can explain both sides to each other.”
Chappelle has repeatedly drawn the ire of LGBTQ+ advocacy groups for taking aim at the transgender community in his stand-up routines. In 2021, Netflix employees staged a walkout of the company’s Los Angeles offices following the release of “The Closer,” one of Chappelle’s comedy specials on the streaming platform in which he defended “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling and her repeated use of transphobic rhetoric.
Chappelle, however, has brushed off claims he’s transphobic. Earlier this year, he spoke out against the ways he believes some prominent Republicans, including Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, began taking his trans-focused jokes wildly out of context. “I did resent that the Republican Party ran on transgender jokes,” he told NPR in April. “I felt like they were doing a weaponized version of what I was doing. That’s not what I was doing.”
For his part, Wayans believes Chappelle simply “wants to freely tell his jokes” without having to cede to his detractors. “He’s just standing there and defending his front line as a comedian,” he told Variety.
A father of two, Wayans is gearing up to return to the big screen later next month in “Scary Movie,” the sixth installment of the beloved horror parody franchise. Appearing on “The Breakfast Club” in 2023, he shared candid details of the personal “transition” he says he experienced after his son Kai, now 25, came out as transgender. “I talk about the transition ― not their transition, but my transition as a parent, going from ignorance and denial to complete and unconditional love and acceptance,” he said at the time. “I think there’s a lot of parents out there that need to have that message.”
Wayans offered similar sentiments in his chat with Variety, saying his relationship with Kai taught him “true, unconditional love.” “All of my kids are gifts, and our love is the wrapping paper. I’m not here for hate,” he continued. “Transphobia is a form of hate. Homophobia is a form of hate. Racism is a form of hate. All those small-hearted, small-minded people, there’s a hell for you. And if you think you’re gonna bully my child, go somewhere else. It’s not going to happen. I won’t stand for it.”
