Comedian and podcaster Marc Maron issued a scathing criticism of Netflix, Dave Chappelle, and Bill Maher during a recent podcast appearance.
“Fascism is good for business,” Maron told Pod Save America host Jon Lovett. “Like, Netflix will just co-opt anybody that can tick that algorithm. I used to do a joke about it, that Netflix can become ‘Reich-flix’ very quickly.
“And I think the pivotal moment was when they had pushback from the trans community about Chappelle, they realized after several days that that community was not going to affect their bottom line at all, and they cut ’em loose. That is how fascism works in business.”
Maron was referring to the controversy surrounding Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix special, The Closer, which was labeled “transphobic” by critics.
After several workers spoke out against the special, the company’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, defended Chappelle, prompting a walkout organized by the Netflix trans employee resource group.
Despite the backlash, Chappelle returned for another Netflix special, titled The Dreamer, on New Year’s Eve 2023, once again taking aim at the trans and disabled communities.
During his podcast appearance, Maron was also asked about Maher, whose show (Real Time) he has appeared on numerous times in the past.
“I can’t do it,” Maron said of the comedian. “I always had a problem with his tone, and it happens with some of the other boomers, there’s this desperate chasing of relevance that changes someone’s mind in terms of how they approach what they do and also kind of makes the whole undertaking feel desperate.”
Maron added: “He’s got good joke writers who know how to write for his tone, but I can’t see past the desperation and what he’s willing to do to stay in the conversation.”
The Independent has contacted representatives for Maher, Chappelle, and Netflix for comment.
Maron recently criticized his peer for agreeing with “some of the things that Trump is doing.”
“It’s like, dude, you’re a b****,” Maron told CNN host W. Kamau Bell of Maher on his WTF podcast earlier this year.
Last October, Maron called out comics who invite “shameless, self-proclaimed white supremacists and fascists” on their shows. In a blog post, he claimed the “anti-woke flank of the new fascism is being driven almost exclusively by comics, my peers.”
“Whether they are driven by the idea that what they are fighting for is a free speech issue or whether they are truly morally bankrupt racists doesn’t matter,” Maron wrote. “They are part of the public face of a fascist political movement that seeks to destroy the democratic idea.”
He added: “When comedians with podcasts have shameless, self-proclaimed white supremacists and fascists on their show to joke around like they are just entertainers or even just politicians, all it does is humanize and normalize fascism. When someone uses their platform for that reason they are facilitating anti-American sentiment and promoting violent autocracy.”
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