The trans activist who staged a walkout at Netflix over comedian Dave Chappelle’s comments about trans people in his special The Closer is under fire for racist tweets against Asians.
The activist, Ashlee Marie Preston, said Chappelle was inciting violence against the trans community. During the walkout she also took aim at Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, saying he was out of touch with people of color and didn’t understand intersectionality.
“I think, ultimately, we’re up against a new emergence of the ‘hate economy,’ and there is this manipulation of algorithmic science that distorts the way that we perceive ourselves and others,” Preston said. “And I think that companies like Netflix, Facebook, and Instagram, they play into it and they monetize it.”
Preston previously tweeted a slew of hateful statements against an Asian person. She apologized in 2019 but the comments resurfaced recently in light of the Netflix walkout.
Take a look at the tweets below, courtesy of Journalist Matt Orfalea.
In her apology in 2019, Preston said she was “Taking accountability for the past, staying rooted in the present, and absorbing lessons for the future.” Here’s that post.
Now that her comments are resurfacing, Preston said the media was trying to shame her and that she’s already “taken accountability” for her actions.
Preston has appeared on numerous news shows talking about the Chappelle issue, but since the tweets resurfaced she posted a lengthy spurt of tweets about change and realizing that people are multi-faceted, and shouldn’t be judged for just one moment.
She also posted a tweet saying that there’s an effort to discredit activists right now.
Netflix CEO Sarandos said he currently has no plans to remove the special from Netflix. Chappelle recently responded to the trans community saying he will meet with them but he has three conditions.
“First of all, you cannot come if you have not watched my special from beginning to end. You must come to a place of my choosing, at a time of my choosing. And thirdly, you must admit that Hannah Gadsby is not funny.”
You can currently still find The Closer streaming on Netflix.
