Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., lashed back at accusations she “weaponized” a social media post with Dave Chappelle, arguing the comedian had already waded into the political debate over transgender issues.
“Dave Chappelle can have his little counseling session with NPR,” Boebert told Fox News Digital, referring to an interview Chappelle gave earlier this week when he criticized a post of the two of them together at the U.S. Capitol.
“That’s fine. You know, I took a photo with 50 Cent, a lot of people and posted about them. And none of them cried over it,” Boebert said.
Boebert snapped a picture with Chappelle in November 2023 and posted the image to Twitter with the caption, “Just three people who understand that there’s only two genders.”
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The original tweet, which also included Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has since been deleted.
The incident resurfaced earlier this week when Chappelle told interviewers he resented the moment.
“I was on Capitol Hill, and everybody ran up to take pictures with me from every congressional office. I didn’t ask how they vote or what their voting record is. And then here comes Lauren Boebert,” Chappelle recalled.
“And she said, ‘Can I get a picture?’ And I had already taken 40 pictures, I didn’t want to say no in front of everybody. … She instantly weaponized it — or politicized it. You should never do that to a person like me.”
Chappelle has repeatedly tackled transgender issues in his Netflix specials, including “Sticks & Stones,” “Equanimity” and “The Closer,” material that has drawn both backlash and support and put him at the center of the broader cultural debate he now says Boebert pulled him into.
Boebert noted as much, suggesting Chappelle has already inserted himself into these national conversations through his comedy.
“I think he’s done that quite a bit, has he not?” Boebert said.
When asked if she believed she had politicized the moment with Chappelle, Boebert said she believes the gravity of the issue merits political discourse.
“They’re castrating our children and destroying them, absolutely ruining their lives over it. In Colorado … we castrate bulls, not baby boys. OK? And that’s what it should be,” Boebert said.
