Netflix

Leslie Jordan is visibly conflicted over the conflict raging at Netflix over Dave Chappelle's latest special.

We got Leslie Wednesday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., and he said right out of the gate he has conflicting loyalties ... he's both a comedian and a strong supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.

Leslie feels good comedy must have a subversive element, but at the same time, it shouldn't be designed to hurt people's feelings.

You see his mind at work as he navigates the controversy. He ultimately concludes Chappelle crossed the line because of the impact it had on the trans community ... a community that has been misunderstood and marginalized for decades.

As we reported, there was a walkout over at Netflix Wednesday to protest the CEO's decision to keep Chappelle's special on the menu.

Netflix's top dog is apologizing for how his words about the Dave Chappelle special may have come across to some employees -- but he's not changing his actual stance.

Ted Sarandos gave some new thoughts on the drama over at his company that's been brewing for 2 weeks now -- confessing he "screwed up" in his initial email to Netflix staffers (which leaked), where he defended "The Closer," while also downplaying transphobic concerns.

The guy says he should've led those emails with humanity first, and acknowledged that there were a group of people that were hurting over the sheer nature of Dave's stand-up.

As far as what Sarandos says he might change in hindsight, he says he probably would've mentioned that content can, in fact, have real-world impact ... be it bad or good, something he seemed to dismiss by analogizing Chappelle's special to first-person shooter games.

That said, he's standing firm on his main point -- namely, that this special, specifically, does NOT fall under hate speech, does NOT cause real-world harm ... and won't be taken down. So, essentially, Ted's apologizing for how he relayed that sentiment ... not the sentiment itself.

He noted their business has to appeal to a variety of customers with differing tastes and views than some of his employees -- and that's just something they'll have to accept.

Sarandos also said content that literally has a call to action to cause harm or remove protections from a certain protected group would cross the line -- but he simply feels Dave didn't cross that with 'Closer' ... even if some at Netflix feel differently.

There are certainly a group who are still riled up over this -- because there's an employee walkout happening Wednesday that's in direct protest to Netflix's decision to keep it up.

It was as inevitable as snow in winter ... "Saturday Night Live" did a sketch Saturday night on Netflix's hit show, "Squid Games."

Pete Davidson and guest host Rami Malek did the honors, with a country-type song about the phenomenon.

The song was a takeoff on Branchez & Big Wet's hit, "Turn Up On the Weekend," and it was pretty hilarious. It went like this ... the 2 guys were in a deep financial hole, so they signed up for the game.

They played the usual kids games, like Red Light Green Light, and the results were fatal for some.

One of the lyrics ... “There’s a robot girl who caught me running, better duck behind the nearest guy.” At one point Pete's face is splattered with blood as he keeps singing.

There's a really funny reference to the confusion over Korean cash and the prize money.

Davidson boasts in song how he killed all of his friends to make a killing in the game. Pete returns to the U.S. triumphant and flush with cash ... which he loses on a really bad bet.  Sorry NY Jets, but it was super funny!

Pete goes back to Korea for more, but this time things don't work out as well.

Jeff Lowe is taking his show on the road, but not voluntarily -- he's being evicted from his "Tiger King" Park, and now has to set up shop in a new location.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the owner of the park went after Jeff claiming he owes more than $10,000 in unpaid rent and other damages. Court documents show the judge ruled Jeff had to fork over $10,000 and vacate the premises by Oct. 22 at noon.

Our sources tell us Jeff's wife, Lauren, showed up to court and said Jeff was taking care of their sick child ... so she asked for an additional 30 days before the eviction, but that request was denied.

Jeff tells TMZ ... he is going to move the zoo to a new, still to be determined, location.

Hannah Gadsby just went scorched Earth on Netflix's honcho and Dave Chappelle over "The Closer," his controversial stand-up special.

The Australian comedian teed off on Ted Sarandos, the streaming giant's co-CEO, after he brought her name into the conversation about how Netflix is "working hard to ensure marginalized communities aren't defined by a single story."

Sarandos said, "So we have 'Sex Education,' 'Orange Is The New Black,' 'Control Z,' Hannah Gadsby and Dave Chappelle all on Netflix. Key to this is increasing diversity on the content team itself."

Hannah's reaction to Ted is basically ... keep my name outta your mouth, and she's hurling a few jabs at Dave too. Hannah says, "Hey Ted Sarandos! Just a quick note to let you know that I would prefer if you didn’t drag my name into your mess. Now I have to deal with even more of the hate and anger that Dave Chappelle’s fans like to unleash on me every time Dave gets 20 million dollars to process his emotionally stunted partial world view."

Hannah gained a lot of popularity following her 2018 Netflix specials, "Nanette" and "Douglas" ... but clearly didn't get Chappelle dough.

Hannah adds, "You didn’t pay me nearly enough to deal with the real world consequences of the hate speech dog whistling you refuse to acknowledge, Ted. F**k you and your amoral algorithm cult…I do s**ts with more back bone than you. That’s just a joke! I definitely didn’t cross a line because you just told the world there isn’t one."

Hannah also noted -- for Chappelle fans, we presume -- that she's watched all of "The Closer" and added, "Leave me alone."

The scathing criticism comes after Sarandos said Netflix wasn't pulling Chappelle's special from the platform because its transphobic shots, don't "directly translate to real-world harm."

A UFC champ is no match for Halle Berry -- at least that's how it looks in the trailer for the actress' new UFC flick, where she goes head-to-head against Valentina Shevchenko ... and beats her face in!!

The Academy Award winner has been working on her Netflix project, "Bruised," for years -- teaming up with big fighters like Brian Ortega and training at Cris Cyborg's gym in Huntington Beach to prepare for the role.

Now, the first glimpse of the movie has been released -- and it's pretty badass.

FYI -- Berry plays a fighter aiming to make a comeback in the sport while battling her own demons ... all while raising her young son.

Shevchenko plays Berry's rival fighter in the movie ... and the trailer shows their characters facing off in the Octagon for a bout.

Berry looks like the real deal in the clip ... and remember, she claimed she broke several bones after taking shots from "Bullet" while filming the flick.

"She had to throw some real kicks and I had to really take them and that really broke some bones," Berry said on "The Tonight Show."

"She’s a beast but I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher, a better scene mate, a better fight partner."

"Squid Game" is the No. 1 show on Netflix in 90 different countries ... but North Korea's blasting it as a "sad reality of a beastly South Korean society."

The North Korean propaganda website, Arirang Meari, chimed in with its review of the survival-game drama ... claiming the show "gained popularity because it exposes the reality of South Korean capitalist culture."

The site went on to claim the show exposes "a world where only money matters -- a hell-like horror." The site views South Korea's capitalist culture as a place where "corruption and immoral scoundrels are commonplace."

The propaganda site also reportedly cited unnamed South Korean film critics saying the series shows an "unequal society where moneyless people are treated like chess pieces for the rich."

The 9-episode thriller pits cash-strapped contestants playing childhood games with deadly consequences ... and the last person standing taking home a pot worth $38 million.

The propaganda site is pissed about the plotline saying, "It is said that it makes people realize the sad reality of the beastly South Korean society in which human beings are driven into extreme competition and their humanity is being wiped out."

Netflix dropped "Squid Game" in September and it's the streamer's most successful show ever. BTW, North Korea levies stiff fines, and even prison, to anyone caught watching South Korean content. That the outlet's not a fan of the show should be no surprise.

Carole Baskin hasn't been this astonished since Joe Exotic ran for president -- she can't figure out how Kate McKinnon copycatted her so perfectly for the upcoming Peacock series.

Carole tells TMZ ... she was stunned to see the 'SNL' star's transformation for "Joe Exotic" ... the dramatic series based off the Wondery podcast with the same title. As you know by now, Joe and Carole have major beef, to put it lightly.

He's accused her of feeding her 2nd husband, Don Lewis, to a tiger.

Anyway, she's stunned because producers nailed the wardrobe -- Carole says she has almost exactly the same outfit as the one Kate's wearing in a new photo from the set. Even Kate's necklace is spot on, which surprises Carole because she never wore that piece of jewelry on the Netflix docuseries.

Her only explanation for Kate's doppelganger act is sooo Baskin. Carole says Kate must be channeling her inner cat lady to be rocking those flats, jeans, sunglasses, purse and messy hair. Hell, they're even using the same 2012 Toyota pickup CB drives.

BTW, Carole says Kyle MacLachlan also did a good job portraying her current husband, Howard -- but it's not identical. She says Howard never wears short-sleeve button-up shirts nor a wedding ring, but she still approves.

Carole says she heard the series will explore her relationship with Howard -- but she's in the dark when it comes to how her battles with Joe will play out on the show.

Remember, she's never actually spoken to him in real life, so she hopes whatever the writers come up with is based on facts.

Dave Chappelle cracking jokes over the LGBTQ+ community is fair game, and should NOT be censored in the slightest -- so says a transgender comedian, who's backing the dude.

Flame Monroe -- a Black trans comic -- tells TMZ she's not in favor of taking Dave's new Netflix special, "The Closer," off the service ... because she says in the world of comedy, nothing is off-limits -- and she simply doesn't believe in censoring standups.

Watch her explanation here, because it's very interesting. Obviously, Flame has a multi-dimensional perspective to offer -- from race to gender identity, and also her chosen craft -- and the one she feels most strongly about is a comic's right to joke freely.

That jibes with what Damon Wayans told us just the other day on this whole debate. He, too, seemed more focused on the comedy side of things ... rather than the LGBT vs. Black comparisons Dave raised in the special.

Flame goes further ... praising Dave as "great," while also saying she believes he's brought people together in a way -- to have a much-needed dialogue.

Bottom line ... Flame seems to be OK with Dave using Netflix's platform to speak his mind -- and clearly believes that outweighs the actual inflammatory content itself.

"Squid Game" is Netflix's surprising, massively successful survival drama out of Korea, but its popularity could pay dividends for people in India too.

Geoffrey Giuliano -- the actor who plays 'VIP 4' on the hit series -- tells TMZ ... he's planning to auction off the robe he wore on the show, as well as his copy of a "Squid Game" script and storyboard, to raise money for widows and children living in West Bengal.

Geoffrey says his auction will be held by a memorabilia dealer in North Carolina, and all the proceeds from it will go to the organization Sri Radhe International.

The actor says he doesn't usually hold on to scripts, but he happened to for "Squid Game" ... and he also asked to keep his robe because he liked it.

Seems like a shrewd move, but Geoffrey points out that nobody knew how big the series would become. Still, he hit the jackpot.

Giuliano tells us he hasn't set a date for the auction yet, but when the bidding starts he expects to see six figures for the robe and at least $10k for the script.

Dave Chappelle is now the great emancipator of comedians thanks to his latest Netflix special -- so says Damon Wayans, who drew a parallel to slavery while praising Dave.

We ran into the comic and actor Monday at LAX and got his take on Dave's standup special, 'The Closer' ... which is STILL being hotly debated nearly a week after its release. As for where Damon lands ... count him as firmly in Chappelle's camp.

You gotta watch how DW breaks this down for us ... saying Dave "freed the slaves" as it pertains to other comics who might be fearful to speak on certain subjects in a PC/woke culture world.

He also goes on to call him the van Gogh of the comedy game -- saying he cut off his ear, in a sacrificial sense, to let the others know ... you can still joke, be yourself and operate without fear of being canceled. Or at least, you should be able to in Damon's view.

Our photog asks about the actual content of the special -- namely, the jokes that have deeply offended folks in the LGBT community (especially transgender people) but Dame won't touch on that.

Netflix benched 3 of its own employees -- including one who's trans -- for blasting Dave Chappelle's new stand-up special ... but the network insists it's more over HOW they did it.

The streaming giant reportedly suspended Terra Field -- who identifies as queer/trans, and who uses she/her pronouns -- and two other Netflix workers for crashing a meeting among top execs last week ... which Field and the rest infiltrated, uninvited -- this, per Variety.

It was a virtual quarterly business review sesh ... and, apparently, CEO Ted Sarandos at one point posed a question to the other bigwigs on how Netflix should handle employees/talent who are upset over Chappelle's special, "The Closer," which is full of trans and LGBTQ jokes.

Sounds like Field and co. piped up right then and there ... but no word on what exactly was said. In any case, they're not gonna be reporting to work for an undetermined amount of time over the stunt.

Field had been vocally against Chappelle's special on Twitter prior to the meeting -- something Netflix says it's totally cool with. What they don't approve, it seems, is the stealth move to sneak into the meeting to voice concerns. That, they say, is why she's suspended.

Of course, Chappelle's comments have been called inflammatory -- especially his remark that he sides with J.K. Rowling on the idea that "gender is a fact" ... going on to say he's team T.E.R.F. (trans-exclusionary radical feminist). It's just one thing he said about the community.

Sarandos fired off an internal memo, also obtained by Variety, to employees after this episode, and essentially defended the special and its right to exist on their platform ... saying he didn't think 'Closer' crossed the line into inciting violence against the trans/LGBTQ community -- and that stand-up gets a longer leash by default in that regard.

Seems Netflix has drawn a line in the sand on this issue, and they're on Chappelle's half of it.

Actor Kristian Nairn, who played Hodor on "Game of Thrones," thinks Dave Chappelle shouldn't make jokes at the expense of the LGBTQ community.

Nairn was on Robertson Boulevard in L.A. Friday when our photog asked about the heat Dave's taking over his latest Netflix special. He makes a case that he's not transphobic or homophobic, but not everyone in the LGBTQ community is buying it and some are calling for a boycott.

Kristian, who came out as gay back in 2014, suggests Dave should stay in his lane and not take shots at communities that don't affect him.

Chapelle couldn't care less about the cancel calls ... he made that clear earlier this week. And, he tripled down at the Hollywood Bowl Thursday night, and Stevie Wonder, Snoop, Lizzo, Jon Hamm and others took the stage and had his back.

"If this is what being canceled is like, I love it."

That's how Dave Chappelle greeted the audience Thursday night at the star-studded screening of his new documentary at L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl ... after receiving a standing ovation despite the swirling controversy over his new Netflix special, "The Closer."

Dave also railed on Twitter, the media and "all these stupid-ass networks" to the celeb-packed crowd that included Brad Pitt, Tiffany Haddish, Donnell Rawlings and more ... saying, "I’m not talking to them. I’m talking to you. This is real life."

Along with Chappelle dismissing cancel culture in wake of being called out for transphobic jokes and offending the LGBTQ+ community in his new stand-up special, Stevie Wonder also took the stage following the premiere of Dave's 'Untitled' doc to chide the idea of being canceled.

Instead, Stevie said society needs to work on canceling hate and fear and focus on loving each other. Interestingly enough, Chappelle also promoted coming together as people and trusting one another again, and spoke of a "kindness conspiracy" to get it going.

Along with Dave addressing his adoring crowd, other guest performers included Jeff Ross, Michael Buffer, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Jon Hamm and others before Chappelle closed things out by saying ... "Thank god I'm canceled because f**k this shit anyway. I bet you I'll be someone better than you think."

DaBaby killing a man wasn't even nearly as offensive as him going after the LGBT community, which torpedoed his career ... a disparity Dave Chappelle says doesn't sit well with him.

The comedian's got a new stand-up special on Netflix, and right off the bat ... he starts making jokes about DB falling from grace after going on a homophobic rant, which Dave notes might've been more of a cardinal sin than actually ending someone's life.

Of course, he's talking about a legal case DaBaby was wrapped up in some years ago -- when cops say he was involved in a fatal shooting at a Walmart in North Carolina ... something DB himself has said was done in self-defense, and for which he skated.

Watch what Dave's going for here ... he's suggesting that pissing off the gay community these days is a way bigger deal -- and could end your career faster -- than actually killing.

It's all tongue-in-cheek, of course, but DC's making a point he seems to believe ... that what DaBaby did wasn't really that big a deal -- considering his overall history. Some might agree, but others certainly don't -- as what DaBaby said at Rolling Loud was, in fact, awful.

Dave acknowledges that as well ... saying that the guy even crossed a line for him personally -- seeing how Dave says he often makes cracks at the expense of the LGBT crowd. But, in (his) perspective, Dave believes something's amiss by the severe fallout DB has faced.

"Outer Banks" star Madelyn Cline certainly looks like she's dipping a toe in the dating waters as a single woman ... because here she is dancing with actor hunk Ross Butler.

TMZ's obtained this video of Madelyn and the "13 Reasons Why" star moving and grooving at Cera restaurant in Milan, Italy ... where they're in town for Fashion Week.

As you can see, Madelyn and Ross are vibing and getting pretty up close and personal.

Adding to the intrigue ... Ross recently posted a pic of them together on his social media, and they're both mugging for the cameras.

The late-night dancing and social media posts are pretty interesting, considering they come on the heels of rumors Madelyn is on the outs with her "Outer Banks" costar, Chase Stokes.