What did Marc Maron say about Dave Chappelle? Comedian slams Netflix for 'platforming' him

Comedian Marc Maron spoke about Netflix's decision to continue airing Dave Chappelle's stand-up specials on the Pod Save America Podcast, which is hosted by Jon Lovett. Maron's comments again raised the criticism that Netflix has been hearing for some time now. He claimed that Netflix's decision to keep "platforming" him is an example of prioritizing profit over accountability.

Without holding back, Maron said:

"Fascism is good for business. Like, Netflix will just co-opt anybody that can tick that algorithm. I used to do a joke about it, that Netflix can become 'Reich-flix' very quickly."

Marc Maron added that Netflix's encounter with criticism from the transgender community during Chappelle's 2021 special The Closer was the "pivotal moment." He also said that it soon couldn't care less and understood that criticism would not hurt it, so they let it go :

"And I think the pivotal moment was when they had pushback from the trans community about Chappelle, they realized after several days that that community was not going to affect their bottom line at all, and they cut 'em loose. That is how fascism works in business."

Dave Chappelle's anti-trans jokes in The Closer initially received harsh condemnation. Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, defended the show, claiming it did not violate the platform's hate speech policy. He said:

"Several of you have also asked where we draw the line on hate. We don't allow titles at Netflix that are designed to incite hate or violence, and we don't believe The Closer crosses that line."

He added:

"Particularly in stand-up comedy, artistic freedom is obviously a very different standard of speech than we allow internally as the goals are different: entertaining people versus maintaining a respectful, productive workplace."

Following what had happened, Chappelle said that he was "listening." In his 2023 special, The Dreamer, Chappelle reiterated his promise.

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Representation vs Profit as explained by Marc Maron

The host of the show, Lovett, pointed out that the platform does provide a large section of LGBTQ+ programs.

Marc Maron responded:

"Sure, but ultimately, who's getting the big deals? Which shows stay on the air? What do they keep repeating? It's the bigger audience. That's them saying, 'We've got this other stuff, we know there's a few of you, but we're throwing you a bone, so shut up.' But the big money's on the ones that you're talking about that titillate in a certain way that is not always right-minded."

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Marc Maron fires shots at Bill Maher

Marc Maron also took shots at Bill Maher. In the same podcast, he spoke about how he dislikes Maher now. At the beginning of the summer, Maher was criticised by Maron for showing favoritism for "some of the things" that President Donald Trump has done in his second term. He said:

“I can’t do it. I always had a problem with his tone, and it happens with some of the other boomers, there’s this desperate chasing of relevance that changes someone’s mind in terms of how they approach what they do and also kind of makes the whole undertaking feel desperate.”

He added:

“He’s got good joke writers who know how to write for his tone, but I can’t see past the desperation and what he’s willing to do to stay in the conversation.”

Not long ago, in the month of May, when CNN host W. Kamau Bell appeared on the WTF podcast, Maron criticized Maher. Marc Maron said:

“Are you going to be like Bill Maher, you know, ‘I’m going to agree with some of the things that Trump is doing.’ It’s like, dude, you’re a b*tch.”

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