Dave Chappelle wins Grammy for controversial Netflix special The Closer

Dave Chappelle has won the best comedy album Grammy for his Netflix special The Closer, in which he sparked a backlash with his comments about gender.

The comedian won the category over Louis CK, Jim Gaffigan, Randy Rainbow and Patton Oswalt to claim his fourth gong at the annual awards.

In the special, Chappelle said “gender is a fact” and shared his backing for JK Rowling, who has also attracted criticism for her comments about biological sex.

In late 2021, Netflix employees were said to have reacted with anger at his comments and reportedly organised a walkout over the streaming giant’s decision to air the special.

Chappelle later hit back at criticism of his comments in a video uploaded to Instagram.

He said: “For the record, and I need you to know this, everyone I know from that community has been nothing but loving and supporting so I don’t know what all this nonsense is about.”

Netflix’s co-chief executive Ted Sarandos had backed Chappelle and refused calls to pull The Closer from the service and said in an internal memo it did not cross “the line on hate”.

The special went on to secure a number of award nominations including two Primetime Emmy nods.

Representatives of Chappelle have been contacted for comment.