Well, this is awkward. And possibly cryptic. But also maybe nothing. Who knows? But it’s certainly gotten our attention.
Netflix has quietly and inexplicably removed 66 of 120 episodes of Chelsea Handler’s now-cancelled original series “Chelsea” from its platform.
This might not seem like such a big deal except that it’s the only time the streaming giant has ever scrubbed content that it owned and created. And the fact that they’re not saying why they did it is also, well, kinda strange.
“Chelsea” ran for two seasons from 2016-2017 and received mixed reviews from critics before having the plug pulled.
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In a statement this week, Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and comedy specials, said that coming up with successful talk shows has been a difficult task.
Related: Nick Cannon points out all those times white female comedians used antigay slurs and no one cared
Over the last two years, the company has canceled three shows in the genre– “The Break With Michelle Wolf,” “The Joel McHale Show With Joel McHale” and “Chelsea”–with two others currently on life support–“Norm Macdonald Has a Show” and “The Fix,” starring Jimmy Carr, D. L. Hughley and Katherine Ryan.
“The timeliness of the genre is a challenge for us as an on-demand service,” Riegg said. “We’ve worked with many talented artists to pioneer talk shows for streaming audiences, and although some shows ended, we hope everyone involved is proud of what they created.”
But that doesn’t explain why, of all those failed talk shows, only Handler’s has been yanked.
Earlier this year, Handler defended fellow comedian Kevin Hart’s homophobic past, saying she “honestly respects” him, despite the fact that he never apologized for cracking antigay jokes and writing antigay tweets, though he falsely claimed he had.
Last December, an old tweet Handler had written in which she used an antigay slur resurfaced, prompting criticism from comedian Nick Cannon.
This is what a fag bird likes like when he flexes. http://tweetphoto.com/26898127
— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) June 12, 2010
Also last year, Handler was criticized for repeatedly cracking jokes about Sen. Lindsay Graham, calling him “gay” and a “bottom” and tweeting that he had a “d*ck sucking” video in an attempt to humiliate him.
All this from a woman who claims to be an LGBTQ “ally.”
Handler has not yet commented on Netflix scrubbing her show from the platform.
Related: People are so over Chelsea Handler’s gay jokes about Lindsey Graham
poundmetoo
I find that the loudest finger pointing SJW types ( several on here that I need not name) are usually the ones that have the most to hide so they try to avert attention away from themselves. Sometimes they get caught in their own web of hatred.
Cam
Except for the fact that over and over right wing religious people are the ones caught molesting children, cheating on their wives, stealing from their churches, and being caught with same sex prostitutes.
But it’s cute that the anti-LGBT troll keeps trying to deflect from that. Your tactics are exactly the same as they were 5 screenames ago when you were BJ McFrisky
Rock-N-RollHS
@ Cam I doubt that Repubs have a market on those crimes and misdemeanors, but I welcome your statistics.
pianomeister
I’m confused. My understanding – from her – was that SHE walked away from the show. Now this article is saying Netflix ‘fired’ her?? Somebody’s not telling the truth here…… and I doubt it’s Chelsea since she’s pretty blatantly, brutally honest these days. Maybe some combination of the two. I know she wasn’t very happy with the new show and the format. With the amount of garbage that Netflix has been pouring out over the last year (and I do mean garbage), nothing surprises me anymore. Does nobody do quality control over there?
xanadude
It’s a slippery slope. To me Chelsea has always been an ally, so it’s like when African American’s use the N word for each other. You supposedly can joke about ‘your own.’ So we just all need to decide if we can joke about a set of people or not.
Creamsicle
The young gays don’t understand when gay acceptance was not mainstream. They cannot imagine a world where you don’t get a cake and a rainbow flag for coming out. They actually complain online now that Pride is too mainstream without realizing that it’s exactly what Harvey Milk, Bayard Rustin, and other actual activists once fought for.
So they don’t understand that there are comics who justifiably feel like they have carte blanche to do gay jokes for entertainment, because they actually believe in and have contributed dollars and man hours to the fight for equality.
Kangol2
Your analogy is flawed because she’s not gay/LGBTQ, whether she’s an ally or not. Sometimes her comments have been casually homophobic, sometimes not, but I don’t think she’s intentionally anti-gay. She does realize that calling a closeted anti-gay politician “gay” aims to call out his hypocrisy and also tag him with something he feels ashamed about. The same is true when she calls Lindsey Graham a “bottom” and jokes about him having a fellatio video. I do wonder what the response would have been had Mike Rogers ever fully outed Lindsey Graham as he did with a number of other GOP politicians and operatives back in the early 2000s; people very well might have just gone ho-hum at him like they have with anti-gay Republican Senator John Barrasso. At any rate, Chelsea Handler calling someone “gay” is not akin to a Black person using the n-word. Or any member of any group repurposing a slur used against them, just as men shouldn’t ever call women the c-word.
Jared MacBride
You found such a flattering photo of her.
Chrisk
Oh noes. She used the F word and called Lindsey a bottom. gasp! I guess this is what they call eating their own. Lol
Rock-N-RollHS
True, and they wonder why Trump won
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Here Queerty goes again!!!
Spewing hate and attempting to discreet someone who HAS ALWAYS been an supporter of the Gay community. She may have made a few missteps….
How the fcuk does Queerty make her calling out a self hating Gay who has caused tremendous harm to the Gay community like Miss Lindsay Graham a bad thing???
Miss Understood
I like Chelsea. Words do not make someone anti-gay. I’m not offended when nice person who is joking around says fag..or makes bottom jokes. We have real enemies running this country, picking on our allies is tedious and silly.
Creamsicle
You nailed it. Progressives now let the perfect become the enemy of the good. You can’t just be an ally, you have to be a FLAWLESS ally, even when your job is to crack jokes.
Humor that judiciously uses profanity and slurs can better illustrate hypocrisy and win more allies in a single sentence than a 1000-page dissertation on the history of gay rights in America.
Chrisk
One of my favorite comedians Lisa Lampenelli calls people fag and butt pirate at almost every show and the gays in the audience love it.
Wicked Dickie
But she’s your ally, right? Like Sarah Silverman, and Amy Schumer.
Rock-N-RollHS
I’m more offended by her new New Age persona. Hollywood! Sigh.
johnnymcmxxx
Everything she said about Miss Lindsay Graham was hilarious. I love an insult comic even if I am the target. Get over your hypersensitivity about everything.
batesmotel
I didn’t even know she had a show. Must’ve been really popular.
Evji108
She has turned into a
righteous,, mean-spirited crank in her old age. Her new talk show was unwatchable. She was good on Chelsea Lately mainly because she had other comedians to relieve the tense atmosphere she created.