CANCEL CULTURE IS REAL: I Was ‘Canceled’ for a Joke.
In 2022 and 2023 I was ranked the Number 1 Comedian in Singapore, but now the entire country from ministers to netizens was turning its back on me.
The harassment had also intensified. Multiple attempts were made to hack my socials, my personal information was exposed, the Comedy Cellar website was hacked, and every venue I had ever worked at was review-bombed and threatened with strong-arming them into not working with me.
IBM called to cancel me for a series of broadcasts I have done for their American and European offices every quarter for the past 2 years because their Malaysian office was unhappy with my joke. A New York comedy club told me that I could no longer be on a show I was previously booked for.
A full-on war was being waged against my mental health and my livelihood. People advised me to just apologize, saying: “Dave Chappelle can afford to not apologize, you can’t.”
Yet instead of folding, the ferociousness of the attack made me more determined to stand firm. I was the latest example in a wave of physical or cyber violence being exacted upon comedians for simply doing our jobs, and I was tired of it.
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