Jay-Z Calls Dave Chappelle 'Brilliant' Amid Controversy

Jay-Z is standing by his friend, Dave Chappelle.

The 51-year-old music superstar praised the 48-year-old comedian in a Twitter Space live earlier in the week with Netflix’s Strong Black Lead account.

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“If you spend time with him, he’s brilliant,” he said.

He also referred to his controversial special The Closer, Jay acknowledged that Dave “pushed a lot of buttons.”

“But I think that what happens with true art is it has to cause conversation,” he said.

“And, you know, sometimes it’s gonna be abrasive and sometimes it’s gonna be off-putting to folks. But it opens up an opportunity to have a dialogue about, you know, whatever the issue is,” he continued.

“Great art is divisive… When you’re making great art, you have to be fearless and you have to create something that you believe in. And that’s what it’s about.”

Dave faced backlash for the transphobic comments he made during his new Netflix special.

Jay-Z was recently inducted into a prestigious institution.