Madeline Brewer calls out Dave Chappelle after research for her latest role
- - Madeline Brewer calls out Dave Chappelle after research for her latest role
Ralphie Aversa, USA TODAYOctober 31, 2025 at 11:15 PM
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NEW YORK – Madeline Brewer is a victim of a dystopian world, again. The actress played Janine Lindo, tortured by Fascists commanders, for six seasons of "The Handmaid's Tale." And in "Anniversary" (in select theaters now), Brewer plays Anna, an up-and-coming stand-up comic who is forced into hiding over her beliefs after her sister-in-law, Liz (Phoebe Dynevor), sets off a nationalist movement.
For Brewer, 33, the thriller is less about a particular political view and more about how politics can crack the foundation of a family. In "Anniversary," Anna is the eldest of four children in the Miller family. Her brother, Josh (Dylan O'Brien), introduces his girlfriend Liz to the family at their parents' 25th anniversary party. Immediately, there's tension: Josh's mom Ellen (Diane Lane), a professor at Georgetown, had Liz in one of her classes. The two sparred over a paper Liz wrote in which she advocated for America to adopt a one-party system.
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In "Anniversary," Madeline Brewer plays Anna, an up-and-coming stand-up comic who has "a little narcissism to her."
That idea eventually spurs a book by Liz called "The Change," and Josh ditches his own writing aspirations to edit and support it. As the book's popularity rises, Josh and Liz marry and become wealthy. Meanwhile, the country moves into an authoritarian state and Josh's family faces the ramifications.
"There comes a point which I think is very prescient and important right now, where it's like, do we put politics and government and then country over family?" Brewer tells USA TODAY. "At what point when these things start dividing, do we choose a side? I think that (the movie) is really about the family dynamic and the fractures that start to form in that foundation when there's a snake in the nest."
Ahead of filming "Anniversary," Brewer studied a number of comics, their views and the backlash to their work, citing George Carlin and Dave Chappelle. For the latter, Brewer read up on the reaction to Chappelle's jokes about the LGBTQ community, specifically transgender people.
"(Chappelle) would call that free speech and comedy," Brewer says of his jokes, pointing to state and federal legislation she feels is making America "a more dangerous place" for the transgender community.
"When you're attacking a community like the trans community, you're not just being a comedian," Brewer says. "You're just being an a------, in my opinion."
For Brewer, the movie feels timely, which she's experienced before with her work.
"This happened a lot on 'The Handmaid's Tale,' where something that we filmed is happening in the world," Brewer says. "And it feels like what we've shot is prophetic in a very concerning way.
"I oftentimes felt like Bruce Miller, our showrunner on 'The Handmaid's Tale,' was psychic or something. But unfortunately, that's just the way that authoritarianism progresses. It's predictable because it's all happened before."
Madeline Brewer says portraying a famous person in "Anniversary" was "kind of fun."
Like her character on "Handmaid's Tale," Anna is brave, Brewer says. However, she believes the two characters wear their bravery differently.
"Janine's bravery, her resilience, it's much quieter and it's much smaller," Brewer says. "Anna's bravery is loud. It is a rage against the machine. And I'm very proud to have been trusted with both of them."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Madeline Brewer calls out Dave Chappelle after researching role
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
