There’s never a dull week in queer culture. And while some weeks are full of joy for queer and trans folks, others are like this one, which saw headlines dominated by Dave Chappelle’s vile transphobia.
In this week’s “The Buzz,” we’re catching you up on the fallout from Chappelle’s grossly transphobic Netflix special, celebrating a trans icon taking on one of horror’s most iconic villains and letting you know if Superman actually came out as queer.
Here’s what you missed in queer and trans pop culture this week.
→The fallout from Dave Chappelle’s transphobic Netflix special continues. Less than a week after the veteran comedian’s latest transphobic diatribe aired on the streaming platform, at least three Netflix employees have been suspended after complaining internally and externally about the decision to host the special. Among them is software engineer Terra Field, whose Twitter thread on the matter went viral.
In an Oct. 8 email statement, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos argued the special is not hate speech, and used Chappelle’s popularity as justification for not removing the special.
“Chappelle is one of the most popular stand-up comedians today, and we have a long standing deal with him. His last special, Sticks & Stones, also controversial, is our most watched, stickiest, and most award winning stand-up special to date,” he wrote. “Some people find the art of stand-up to be mean spirited but our members enjoy it, and it’s an important part of our content offering.”
Trans folks are tired of having corporations protect rich bigots instead of us. And with a tone-deaf response like Sarandos’, you can probably expect a lot more blowback in the coming days and weeks.
→Following Gottmik’s iconic tribute in the Season 13 finale of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Hellraiser continues to get more and more trans. Jamie Clayton, who you may know as Tess from The L Word: Generation Q, was just cast as the iconic villain Pinhead in the newest Hellraiser project, and everyone’s delighted.
→Ben Affleck and Matt Damon reportedly wrote a queer kiss into their new, incredibly straight looking movie, The Last Duel, but opted to take it out. Truly, our loss.
→Halsey was the musical guest on this week’s Saturday Night Live, and even brought their inherent queer energy to portraying Kendall Jenner.
→Also on SNL, a sketch featuring Bowen Yang, Aidy Bryant and host Kim Kardashian as a Costco pop band was cut for time, and honestly that’s homophobic.
→LEGO is doing away with its gendered toys. Products are going to be categorized by interest rather than gender, a big win for future dinosaur-loving, gender nonconforming kids like me.
→Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden has reportedly resigned after a bunch of his inappropriate emails from 2011 leaked, including ones using homophobic slurs and slamming a team’s decision to draft the first openly gay player, Michael Sam. A reminder that the Raiders are currently home to the NFL’s first openly gay active player, Carl Nassib, who came out this summer.
→Superman’s queer… kind of. Following in the footsteps of Batman sidekick Robin, DC has announced that Superman will share a same-sex kiss in an upcoming issue. This isn’t the Clark Kent Superman most of us know and love, though, but his son Jon Kent who took up the Superman title in a recent comics run. So while it’s not quite Superman and Louis, we can still celebrate more progress in comics!
→Speaking of queer superheroes, original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter had the sweetest message for queer fans on National Coming Out Day.
→And speaking of Coming Out Day, there’s always plenty of stories to celebrate on Oct. 11. My favourite this year is the organist for the Anaheim Ducks hockey team, who came out as trans and bi in a heartwarming post.
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