Dave Chappelle has a bone to pick with the Republican Party.
During an interview with "NPR's Newsmakers" released April 15, the comic, 52, said he is not happy with the way he feels Republicans weaponized his controversial jokes about the transgender community.
"I did resent that the Republican Party ran on transgender jokes," he told NPR. "You know, I felt like they were doing a weaponized version of what I was doing. It's not what I was doing."
In particular, Chappelle criticized Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who in 2023 posted a selfie with the comedian, alongside Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, with the caption, "Just three people who understand that there's only two genders." Chappelle noted the photo was taken when he was visiting Capitol Hill and taking pictures with everyone who asked.
"Here comes Lauren Boebert," he recalled. "She's like, 'Can I get a picture?' And I had already taken 40 pictures. I didn't want to say no in front of everybody. But I didn't know the phrase, 'I respectfully decline,' so I just took the picture. And then she posts the picture … she instantly weaponized it, or politicized it. … You should never do that to a person like me."
