Actor Wil Wheaton has apologized for his own past homophobia and also condemned Dave Chappelle’s remarks about transgender people in his most recent Netflix special.
The “Star Trek: The Next Generation” alum served the apology in a Facebook post and also made reference to Eddie Murphy’s 1983 standup show “Delirious.”
The actor recalled how he made a slur, referencing gay men in a locker room when he was young. He said he was “embarrassed” and “horrified” and still “thinks about it all the time,” offering up an apology nearly 30 years after the incident.
Wheaton wrote;
“For much of my teen years, I was embarrassingly homophobic, and it all started with that comedy special."
The actor then turned to Chappelle’s comments in his controversial Netflix special “The Closer", calling out those who defended Chappelle seemingly because he is a person of color. He went on to reveal why Murphy’s special was, for him, a definitive springboard in his younger years.
Wheaton who claimed that certain jokes are “dehumanizing to gay men", added;
“For a transgender person, those ‘jokes’ normalize hateful, ignorant, bigoted behavior towards them.
“And it’s all okay, because they were dehumanized by a Black man. And the disingenuous argument that it’s actually racist to hold Chapelle accountable for this? Get the f–k out of here.
“It had bits that still kill me. The ice cream song, Aunt Bunny falling down the stairs, mom throwing the shoe. Really funny stuff.
“There is also extensive homophobic material that is just f–king appalling and inexcusable.
“Young Wil, who watched this with his suburban white upper middle class friends, in his privileged bubble, thought it was the funniest, edgiest, dirtiest thing he’d ever heard. It killed him."