Dave Chappelle may have garnered an Emmy nomination last week for his
controversial The Closer special, but today the comic was booted out of one of
Minneapolis� most storied venues for his often-wounding take on the
transgender community.

Mere hours before the Mark Twain Prize winner was set to step on to the stage
at the Minnesota metropolis� First Avenue, organizers pulled the plug on the
sold-out show. Citing a backlash against Chappelle�s perceived transphobic
remarks, First Avenue management canceled his protested performance at the
venue and moved him to the nearby Varsity Theater.

Here is what First Avenue said earlier today:

We're a bunch of sensitive leftist assholes who don't like it
when someone calls up out for molesting children and boys
pretending to be girls.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CgP7ebCOEqc

The Varsity Theater soon afterwards took to Twitter Wednesday to reinforce the
shift of venues:

Attention Dave Chappelle Fans! The show scheduled for tonight at First
Ave has now been moved to Varsity Theater. Your tickets from First Ave
will be honored. Doors open at 8PM and we highly recommend arriving
early.

This event will be a phone-free experience.
pic.twitter.com/khrphPmqZo

� Varsity Theater (@VarsityTheater) July 20, 2022

Reps for Chappelle, who was previously set to put on two other shows at the
Varsity tomorrow and on July 22, did not respond to a request for comment from
Deadline on the First Avenue cancellation. Tickets for Chappelle�s First
Avenue gig were suddenly released on July 18 and were scooped up within
minutes for the 1,550 main room capacity facility.

For those of you living under a rock or requiring a cultural anthropology
lesson, First Avenue is the club featured heavily in Prince�s iconic Purple
Rain film from 1984. Though First Avenue has never official been declared a
historical landmark, as many believe it should be, the venue celebrated its
50th anniversary back in 2020. Over his career, Chappelle has performed at the
venue repeatedly.

Even though Chappelle�s The Closer attracted fierce fallout and even some
Netflix staff firings and resignations over the protests for his attacks on
the transgender community, TV Academy voters still felt fit to give the
special an Emmy nomination on July 12 in the Outstanding Variety Special
(Pre-Recorded) category.

In his What�s in a Name? special released on Netflix last month, Chappelle
showed little understanding of the pain he may have caused. In fact, he called
The Closer a �masterpiece.� Citing a meeting with upset students of Washington
D.C.�s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where Chappelle himself finished
high school, the comic dismissed their concerns with his material and his POV
on trans rights as simply �talking points� lacking insight into his artistic
nuance.

�The more you say I can�t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say
it,� said Chappelle in the 40-minute speech over the naming of the school�s
theater. �And it has nothing to do with what you�re saying I can�t say. It has
everything to do with my right, my freedom, of artistic expression.�

Comedian Dave Chappelle dropped in on a surprised and apparently delighted
New York City audience on Saturday, appearing as the unannounced opening act
for fellow comedians Chris Rock and Kevin Hart for their �Only Headliners
Allowed� tour stop at Madison Square Garden.

Chappelle, who was ousted from a Minnesota venue less than a week earlier
over jokes critics had slammed as �transphobic,� joined the two onstage and
was greeted by an explosion of applause from the audience.

�Had to sneak my way in here,� Chappelle reportedly told the audience by way
of explanation, walking out to Radiohead�s �Karma Police.�

�Despite what you may have read about in the news, I�m OK, and I appreciate
the support,� he added.

Hart called Chappelle�s appearance �the best moment� of his career, sharing
several photos from the event. �Last night was by far the best moment of my
career,� he tweeted. �I can�t even explain it � I can�t find the words � Just
know that last night was the true definition of a �EPIC NIGHT� � I love my
brothers more than words can explain. We made history last night!!!
#RockHartChappelle�

Last night was by far the best moment of my career�I can�t even
explain it�I can�t find the words�Just know that last night was the
true definition of a �EPIC NIGHT��I love my brothers more than words
can explain. We made history last night!!!#RockHartChappelle
pic.twitter.com/x1XtRXZQCO

� Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) July 24, 2022

And the fans appeared to be more than happy with the surprise addition to the
evening�s lineup.

�#ChrisRock, #KevinHart, and #DaveChappelle on the same stage at MSG was
nothing short of legendary,� @Callistusss tweeted. �Honored to have
witnessed.�

#ChrisRock , #KevinHart , and #DaveChappelle on the same stage at MSG
was nothing short of legendary. Honored to have witnessed ???? (more
footage on my Instagram @Callistusss ) pic.twitter.com/4VHDXJGiiW

� Callistus (@Callistusss) July 24, 2022

�I just witnessed comedic history at @TheGarden @KevinHart4Real @chrisrock
and @DaveChappelle on one stage!� Jennifer King added. �It was like seeing
Kobe drop 80 in there! Wow!�

I just witnessed comedic history at @TheGarden @KevinHart4real
@chrisrock and @DaveChappelle on 1 stage! It was like seeing Kobe
drop 80 in there! Wow!

� Jennifer King (@JenniferKing5) July 24, 2022

Ben Gilbert made a similar comparison, tweeting, �Anyone who saw Dave
Chappelle, Chris Rock, and Kevin Hart last night at MSG is so wildly lucky
that it�s kind of hard to fathom. That�s like going to see a Kendrick and J.
Cole show and the surprise opener is Drake.�

Anyone who saw Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, and Kevin Hart last night
at MSG is so wildly lucky that it's kind of hard to fathom. That's
like going to see a Kendrick and J. Cole show and the surprise opener
is Drake.

� Ben Gilbert (@RealBenGilbert) July 24, 2022

Chappelle has recently been under fire for jokes from his latest Netflix
special �The Closer,� during which he defended �Harry Potter� author J.K.
Rowling, who has been labeled a TERF (Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminist).

�They canceled J.K. Rowling � my God,� Chappelle said. �Effectually she said
gender was a fact, the trans community got mad as (expletive), they started
calling her a TERF � I�m Team TERF. I agree. I agree, man. Gender is a fact.�

--
Let's go Brandon!

In article <tbm0rn$16evo$10@dont-email.me>,
Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote:

> Comedian Dave Chappelle dropped in on a surprised and apparently delighted
> New York City audience on Saturday, appearing as the unannounced opening act
> for fellow comedians Chris Rock and Kevin Hart for their "Only Headliners
> Allowed" tour stop at Madison Square Garden.
>
> Chappelle, who was ousted from a Minnesota venue less than a week earlier
> over jokes critics had slammed as "transphobic", joined the two onstage and
> was greeted by an explosion of applause from the audience.
>
> "Had to sneak my way in here," Chappelle reportedly told the audience by way
> of explanation, walking out to Radiohead's "Karma Police".
>
> "Despite what you may have read about in the news, I'm okay, and I appreciate
> the support," he added.
>
> Hart called Chappelle's appearance "the best moment" of his career, sharing
> several photos from the event. "Last night was by far the best moment of my
> career," he tweeted. "I can't even explain it... I can't find the words...
> Just know that last night was the true definition of a 'EPIC NIGHT'... I
> love my brothers more than words can explain. We made history last night!!!
> #RockHartChappelle"

> And the fans appeared to be more than happy with the surprise addition to
> the evening's lineup.

Despite the best efforts of the 87-Gender Trans-Testicle Brigade to
destroy his career, normal people continue to love Chappelle and enjoy
his performances.

atropos@mac.com wrote:

>Despite the best efforts of the 87-Gender Trans-Testicle Brigade to
>destroy his career, normal people continue to love Chappelle and enjoy
>his performances.

If only those protesters had bothered to watch the show they are protesting...

--
Let's go Brandon!