A Tale of Two Reads

Dave Chappelle VS The Dolls

A joy of digging through our history is unearthing acts of resistance which are relevant today. It can ease the déjà vu of Queer politics. So many of our struggles are reruns: a new generation of bigots “discover” us then shit on us for political gain, profit and laughs. Queer folks are at the center of a culture war (again). Exhausting as it is, past battles leave us with blueprints. One strategy we learn over and over is how effective Queer shade is. This past week, two reads by two Trans women about two comedians went viral. They were recorded 30 years apart.

“At this point, it’s giving client. I don’t know what doll hurt Dave Chapelle…but it’s giving angry trick…Am I lying dolls? His ego was bruised so he went on a rampage. Who goes on to make three comedy specials about the dolls? Get him some help.”
- Trace Lysette 2024

Dave Chappelle was in the headlines for yet another special in which he addresses Trans people. Dave is now seen by many Queers as this generation's Anita Bryant. Regardless of his “intentions,” the discomfort outweighs the chuckles. There were always fundamental flaws to his jokes, like neglecting there are Queer Black people or believing that “I have a Trans friend” gave him a free pass. Considering the current threat to our rights, many Queers are not in the mood for jokey-jokes. Our own oversensitivity aside, Dave is a symptom of a larger problem: the hyperfixation, then scapegoating of Queer people, specifically Trans folks. When he makes us the topic of discussion, it’s like he’s shaking the operating table while we’re trying to work or cracking jokes at a funeral when he didn’t know the deceased. 

Most of us let out a collective groan that he was in the headlines for the same shit. What else is there to say? Enter Trans actress Trace Lysette. She turned on her front-facing camera and gave TikTok a simple explanation to Dave’s Trans fixation: he’s just a disgruntled John. Whether or not it’s true, it was a masterclass in reading. She was breezy and brutal, looking resplendent and bored, a disarming combo in a beautiful woman. “It’s giving client” she growled with a cackle at his expense. It became an instant Queer catchphrase, shorthand for what so many Queers know intimately: bullies who are too interested in us are hiding something. It’s usually people who can’t keep Queers out of their mouth, who, well, can’t keep Queers out of their mouth. Her read raked in millions of views in a couple of days. 

“The whole fucking world is being run by perverted undercover fags running around talking about how straight they are…Big time celebrities that go around in their cars picking up transvestites, having sex with them and getting on national TV making fun of them. Everything you do is like a boomerang. It eventually comes back. Don’t fuck with me.”
- Octavia St. Laurent 1993

The second read was posted by yours truly. Part of my work in social media is a call-and-response, finding Queer history for current events. In this case, an old clip of another high-profile Trans woman’s read for another famous comedian. Octavia St. Laurent’s indictment of closeted celebrities from 1993. I paired it with a video of Dave’s special and a haunting 1980’s opera from nonbinary legend Klaus Nomi. It was designed to go viral and it did. 

Octavia was a ballroom legend and star of 1990’s Paris is Burning. In the 1993 documentary The Queen of The Underground, she tore into closeted celebrities who picked up Trans women in their cars, then made fun of them in public. She called them “perverted undercover fags,” eyes glistening. She didn’t name names, but her pointed use of the word “boomerang” was always seen as shade toward Eddie Murphy, who starred in the film “Boomerang” a year prior. Eddie had a fraught history with Queer folks. Part of his fame was built on jokes about Gays and AIDS in the 80s. Eddie did apologize in 1996 but Queer memory is long and we never forgot being kicked while we were down. In 1997, Eddie was pulled over with a Trans sex worker. He claimed he was being a “good samaritan” and giving Shalimar Seiuli a ride home at 4:45am. She was arrested for sex work, he was let go. Eddie continued to be a huge box office star of family films. A year later Shalimar fell out of a window to her death. The mainstream media got over the scandal fast. Hollywood had invested a ton of money on Eddie. Shalimar’s story made a huge impact on the Trans community. Octavia had been right.

Within a day, Octavia’s read became one of my most seen posts, with millions of views in 48 hours. I chose not to bleep “fag,” though it threatened my social media account (funny how some of us still have to deal with the repercussions of words). You don’t censor a Goddess. The entire power of the clip is in that slur. It signals this is an inter-community discussion. Our Trans siblings have been telling us for a long time that a fixation on their lives usually indicates a deeper, dangerous attraction. The video was taken down by Instagram for “hate speech,” but the viral damage was done. Octavia’s “Don’t fuck with me” incited cheers. This shade was a threat from beyond the grave (Octavia died of cancer in 2009). It signaled a shift in the way Queers will deal with the Daves of the world. Not too angry, but cool and hilarious. To see our enemy as not only small, but malleable, something to fuck with (and someone who might want to fuck us). It’s telling that Chappelle started this journey in an offensive position and is ending in a defensive position, slightly diminished and open to ridicule. Anita Bryant was taken down by a creampie after all. 

We all benefited from making fun of Dave. Trace’s virality gave her new indie movie “Monica” priceless promotion. I welcomed thousands of new followers. The comment section and shares of both clips were a catharsis of Trans folks saying “YES! Same shit, different decade!” It doesn’t matter how much Eddie and Dave’s stories overlap, (it’s just jokes right?). What matters is we’ve seen this show before. The late 90s/early 2000s was a vicious time for Queers. It had been fine to see us as victims of AIDS but as soon as we bounced back, demanded marriage equality and hate crime laws, the jokes got worse and so did the legislation.

This is the part where they tell Trans folks they have no power and that they’re invisible. But all Queers see is the world’s biggest entertainers, writers and pundits all putting their careers on the line because they can’t stop talking about Trans folks. The world’s biggest politicians are spending billions of dollars to criminalize Trans people. Educated people are ignoring a millennia of Trans history to pretend Trans folks are new. All of these people defending sports, defending bathrooms, defending womanhood and manhood from an enemy they say is weak and ill, all with the singular goal of proving Trans people are powerless to exist. It’s very apparent that Trans folks are really fucking powerful and mighty real… and that Queers always get the last laugh.

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Some of my favorite shady moments from TikTok (paid subscribers)