Channing Tatum is sharing his thoughts about Dave Chappelle — even if he's a controversial subject right now.
The comedian received some major backlash following the release of his new special, The Closer, during which he made problematic comments about the trans and LGBTQ+ communities.
Channing decided to speak out about controversy, showing some support for the comedian whose words helped him in the past.
"I understand that Dave is a very dangerous person to talk about at the moment. I understand and hate that he has hurt so many people with things he has said," Channing wrote in an Instagram story.
He continued, "Any human can hurt someone (usually cause they’re hurt) but any human can heal and heal others just the same. This little piece healed me back in the day. I can’t forget that."
The "little piece" Channing referenced was an excerpt from a speech Dave gave while accepting the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center back in 2019.
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In the speech, Dave spoke about how his personality differs from the one he presents to the public — and how comedy saved his life.
“I was a soft kid. I was sensitive; I’d cry easy, and I would be scared to fistfight. My mother used to tell me this thing… 'Son, sometimes you have to be a lion so you can be the lamb you really are.' I talk this shit like a lion. I’m not afraid of any of you. When it comes word to word, I will gab with the best of them, just so I can chill and be me," Dave said.
He continued, "And that’s why I love my art form, because I understand every practitioner of it. Whether I agree with them or not, I know where they’re coming from. They want to be heard. They’ve got something to say. There’s something they noticed. They just want to be understood. I loved this genre. It saved my life."
And although the words were meaningful to Channing, he says it "does not excuse anything hurtful tho to be clear."
