Dave Chappelle's comedy special "The Closer," which ignited a massive backlash on social media and a staff revolt at Netflix last fall, has been nominated for two Emmy Awards.
The program, widely criticized for Chappelle's transphobic commentary, received Emmy nods Tuesday morning for prerecorded variety special and directing for a variety special. Rounding out the prerecorded variety special category are "Adele: One Night Only" (CBS), "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts" (HBO Max), "Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special" (Netflix) and "One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga" (CBS).
Nominated in the directing category opposite Stan Lathan ("The Closer") are Paul Dugdale ("Adele: One Night Only"), Bo Burnham ("Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel"), Norm Macdonald and Jeff Tomsic ("Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special") and Hamish Hamilton ("The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show").