Dave Chappelle wins Grammy for controversial comedy special

Comedian Dave Chappelle won best comedy album at this year’s Grammys for “The Closer,” a Netflix special that was criticized as transphobic.

Chappelle was not in attendance at the 65th annual Grammys in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday night, and a presenter accepted the award on his behalf.

The stand-up special drew an angry backlash after Chappelle used crude terms to refer to a transgender person’s anatomy and mocked members of the community.

Advocacy groups like GLAAD condemned the comedian, and others urged Netflix to remove the special, the sixth in a series he’d done for the streaming platform.

The comedian defended his comments as free expression and refused to apologize.

“The Closer” also landed an Emmy Award nomination late last year.

Chappelle took the Grammys win Sunday over another controversial comedian, Louis C.K., who had met with outrage after he poked fun at sexual misconduct claims against him in another special, “Sincerely Louis C.K.,” which won a Grammy last year.

At this year’s ceremony, artist Kim Petras won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, becoming the first openly transgender woman to take home a top Grammys prize.

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