Steve Harvey has argued that it wouldn’t be possible for him to do a comedy special without killing his career.
Promoting his new series Judge Steve Harvey, the host suggested that “the only way [he could] do one more special is if it’s at the end of [his] television career, because it will end [his] television career.”
“We’re in the cancel culture now,” Harvey continued. “No stand-up that is sponsor-driven can say anything he wants to. Chris Rock can’t. Kevin Hart can’t. Cedric the Entertainer can’t, D.L. Hughley can’t. I can go down the list. The only person that can say what they want to say on stage is Dave Chapelle because he’s not sponsor-driven. He’s subscription driven.”
The special Harvey is referring to is Chapelle’s Netflix special The Closer which aired late last year. The special included many controversial jokes surrounding the LGBTQ+ community.
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Consequently, there was a walkout protest from the trans employees and allies of Netflix while Co-CEO Ted Sarandos continued to defend the special.
In a video to fans, Chapelle blamed “corporate interest” for trying to control “what [he] can say and what [he] cannot say.” Chapelle also made clear that he wouldn’t be bending “to anybody’s demands.”
Harvey reiterates that “If [he] had tried to continue stand-up, there’s no way [he] could maintain it”
“Political correctness has killed comedy. Every joke you tell now, it hurts somebody’s feelings. But what people don’t understand about comedians is that a joke has to be about something. It has to be about somebody.
“We can’t write jokes about puppies all the time. The joke can’t be about bushes all the time. Some of these jokes will have to be about people, because that’s the most interesting topic.”
“So if I come back, I’ll have to wait until I’m done. I want to do one more. I’ll probably have to call it ‘This Is It’”
