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Comedian Dave Chappelle’s show at a Minneapolis venue on Wednesday was canceled hours before he was due to take the stage due to staff and community backlash over his latest jokes about transgender people.
First Avenue announced in a statement that Chappelle will not be performing at the venue on Wednesday night, but at another venue in Minneapolis. The venue faced backlash for booking the legendary comedian for a surprise, sold-out performance in the months following his 2021 Netflix special “The Closer,” in which Chappelle doubled down on jokes about the LGBTQ community after past accusations of homophobia and transphobia.
“To the staff, artists and our community, we hear you and we’re sorry,” First Avenue said in a statement posted on social media less than three hours before the show began. “We know we have to hold ourselves to the highest standards, and we know we let you down. We’re not just a black box with people in it, and we understand that First Ave isn’t just a room, it matters beyond our walls.”
The storied venue, best known for his appearances in Prince’s 1984 film Purple Rain, added that while he believes in diverse voices and freedom of artistic expression, “we lost sight of the impact” Chappelle would have on the community.
“We know there are some who will disagree with this decision; you can send feedback,” First Avenue wrote.
We hear you. Tonight’s show has been canceled at First Avenue and moved to the Varsity Theatre. See our full statement for more. pic.twitter.com/tkf7rz0cc7
— First Avenue (@FirstAvenue) July 20, 2022
A representative for Chappelle did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday.
Chappelle has been criticized for comments that LGBTQ advocacy groups say could incite harm to transgender people. As part of “The Closer,” Chappelle joked about transgender genitalia, said “gender is a fact” and told the audience she was on “Team TERF,” an acronym for Trans-Exclusion Radical Feminist. The comedian also defended J. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, who has been criticized for making statements deemed transphobic. Chappelle has poked fun at the transgender community in the past, including in his 2019 special “Sticks & Stones.”
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GLAAD, a media watchdog group, previously accused Chappelle’s program of having “anti-LGBTQ content” that violates Netflix’s policy of rejecting programming that incites hatred or violence. The National Black Justice Coalition, a civil rights group, called on Netflix last year to immediately pull the special and “directly apologize to the transgender community.”
Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-CEO, has repeatedly defended the comedian, saying last year that “creative freedom” was one of the reasons the company didn’t pull the special. Sarandos acknowledged that while some people may find Chappelle’s stand-up “mean,” “our members enjoy it and it’s an important part of our content offering.”
Dave Chappelle is drawing criticism for doubling down on jokes about the LGBTQ community
The fallout from the special event took place over the past year. After the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Northwest Washington planned to dedicate a student theater to the comedian, Chappell unexpectedly announced last month that it would not bear his name. Chappelle declined the honor amid controversy surrounding his Netflix special last year, at a time when Ellington students also expressed concerns.
Chappelle has been open about the backlash, telling an Ellington audience last month that the criticism “honestly” hurt him, but that it lacked nuance and was not about his work.
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In announcing the cancellation Wednesday, First Avenue said Chappelle’s show has been moved to the Varsity Theater, where all tickets for the performance will be honored. Chappelle was already scheduled to perform at the Varsity Theater on Thursday and Friday.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Varsity Theater to oppose Chappelle, many chanting “Trans rights matter!” and holding signs saying, “Transphobia is no joke.” One Chappelle fan was also hit with an egg by a man who protesters don’t believe was part of the demonstration, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Chappelle reportedly heckled the protesters during his set Wednesday night, but urged those in attendance at the Varsity Theater to continue supporting First Avenue, the Star Tribune reported.
“This is an important place for our culture,” he said.
Perry Stein and Amanda Andrade-Rhoades contributed to this report.
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