Dave Chappelle is feeling the heat for poking fun at the sexual misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey.
In “The Bird Revelation,” Chappelle’s Netflix special that debuted Sunday, the 44-year-old comedian references a number of high-profile scandals, including the sexual assault accusations that actor Anthony Rapp has made against Spacey.
“Wow, I mean it is really bad out here,” Chappelle says, according to The Daily Beast. “Kevin Spacey’s out here, grabbing men by the pussy! I didn’t even know that was possible!”
Rapp first accused Spacey of misconduct during an interview with BuzzFeed in October. He said Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance toward him at a party in 1986, when Spacey was 26 and Rapp was 14.
In the special, Chappelle notes that Rapp “grew up to be gay anyway,” and that “Kevin Spacey sniffed that shit out like a truffle pig.”
“I’ve been to a lot of parties in my day. Never been to a good one that had 14-year-old boys in it,” Chappelle says. “All joking aside, Kevin Spacey shouldn’t have done that shit to that kid. He was 14 years old and forced to carry a grown man’s secret for 30 years.”
But then he makes one more joke at Rapp’s expense.
“The saddest part is, if he had been able to carry that secret for another six months, I would get to know how ‘House of Cards’ ends,” he says.
Comedians Norm MacDonald, Donnell Rawlings and Adam Devine defended Chappelle to TMZ, but the jokes about Spacey have angered some viewers.
Chappelle has sparked controversy in the LGBTQ community before. During his residency at New York’s Radio City Music Hall last year, the comedian cracked jokes about Caitlyn Jenner and President Donald Trump’s attempt to ban trans recruits from the military.
Chappelle dismissed accusations of transphobia during an August interview with The Washington Blade.
“I’m not an obstructionist of anybody’s lifestyle,” he said, “as long as it doesn’t hurt me or people I love, and I don’t believe that lifestyle does.”