Debating Chappelle

After reading Mary McNamara’s column [“A Masterwork of Gaslighting,” Oct. 13], I watched Dave Chapelle’s comedy special “The Closer.”

I agree that the comment about pummeling a lesbian’s breast like cutlets was disgusting. But I thought the rest was in the bounds of his rough brand of humor and didn’t find it offensive. Cathy Tennican

Los Angeles

It is painfully obvious that Mary McNamara did not watch the entire program. She [took] the same out-of-context lines that others have, got outraged, then tried to justify her anger by claiming Netflix [CEO] Ted Sarandos is “gaslighting” us.

Chappelle’s carefully crafted climactic ending may have been wasted. Eric Thiessen Newport News, Va.

Editor’s note: Sarandos later followed up his memo to employees with comments saying he “screwed up” in the tone of his message and that he “should have recognized ... that a group of ... employees was really hurting.” But the streamer had no plans to remove the special.

It was dismaying to read Netflix’s disingenuous corporate defense of the hate speech that Dave Chappelle offered as comedy in his standup special “The Closer.”

Violent video games and movies are very different from arrows of derision and prejudice. Eric Brill

West Covina

The other night I was watching an old Chris Rock special on TV. Rock cracked jokes about Black people for a while and then he went after white folks as well. Was I insulted when he made some humorous but edgy jokes about my ethnic group? Not in the least.

If I didn’t like his style of humor, all I had to do was change the channel. I didn’t.

Mark Walker Yorba Linda

Mary McNamara writes, “But stand-up comedy is not, by definition, offensive.”

But great stand-up is. Lenny Bruce, Don Rickles, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison and others would be victims of McNamara’s censorship today.

Dan Salomon

Mission Hills