Dave Chappelle Barred From Performing, Protecting Freedom Of Expression Cited As Reason
The cancellation continues.
The war on comedy continues, with the latest battlefront in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where a theater barred comedian Dave Chapelle from performing after local activists protested. In an ironic twist, the theater claimed cancelling Chapelle’s performance was done because they “believe in diverse voices and the freedom of artistic expression.” According to a report by Bounding Into Comics, Chapelle’s show was cancelled just hours before he was set to perform on July 20 because of a petition from 128 local activists who claimed Chapelle is a transphobic and his jokes about the transgender community are harmful. The First Avenue Theater, who is independently owned and has a history of giving up-and-coming artists like Prince a place to perform, announced the cancellation in a tweet.
The petition, “Dave Chappelle has a record of being dangerous to trans people,” their petition on Change.org stated. “First Avenue has a duty to protect the community. Chappelle’s actions uphold a violent heteronormative culture.” The 2020 honoree of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ended up moving his show to another local theater that night.
The controversy began years ago, in response to Chapelle’s jokes about trans activists and LGBTQ activists, who he often refers to as “alphabet people.” However, the controversy intensified after the release of his Netflix special The Closer, released in October of 2021. He addressed some previous criticism, then doubled down with some raunchy jokes about the genitalia of trans people, which did not resonate well with trans activists. Netflix, for its part, supported Chapelle’s right to speech and did not bow to calls to remove his specials from the streaming platform. In protest, dozens of Netflix employees walked out of their offices for several hours. Some actually quit their jobs.
Even with all of the controversy surrounding The Closer, Dave Chapelle refused to back down, and in a video response, stated that his fight is not with trans activists, but rather with corporate interests trying to regulate what he has to say. He had previously talked about his personal friendship with a trans woman named Daphne, who he said opened his eyes to transgender people and the struggles they endure. He said Daphne would encourage him to never back down from the jokes, as long as he spoke his truth.
Although Dave Chapelle has made headlines over the activist outrage over his transgender jokes, he points out that his jokes and criticism run the full spectrum of culture and politics. His brilliant but ruthless insight has been directed at Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, and all races, cultures, and sexual identities. He has been vocal in his criticism of conservative commentator Candace Owens, who still supported his right to speech and called him one of the greatest comedians ever, despite his raunchy and hilarious jokes directed at her.
Dave Chapelle seemed to get the last laugh, of sorts, as he made an appearance over the weekend by appearing with Chris Rock and Kevin Hart’s show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. He talked about cancel culture and even joked about the man who attacked him during his appearance at the Hollywood Bowl this past May. The attacker, a self-proclaimed bisexual rapper, was upset over Chappelle’s trans jokes. Chappelle responded on Saturday, joking that he hoped his attacker would get monkeypox while in jail. He said he didn’t hope “that he should die, but his ass should itch for four to six weeks.” While Chapelle talked about the accusations that his words “hurt,” Chris Rock responded by saying that anyone who thinks that has never been slapped in the face, referring to his infamous Oscar slap from Will Smith. In a tweet after the show, Hart referred to the show as an “epic night.”
