A Minneapolis venue suddenly canceled and relocated a Dave Chappelle show : NPR
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A concert venue in Minneapolis canceled a Dave Chappelle performance just hours before it was scheduled to begin, saying it had “lost the influence” that the controversial comedian cast will cause to their audience. Wednesday night’s performance has been moved to another location across town.
“To our employees, artists and community, we hear you and we apologize,” First Avenue said in a statement notice of cancellation. “We know we must hold to the highest standards and we know we’ve let you down. … The First Avenue team and you have worked hard to transform our locations into spaces. safest in the country and we will continue with that mission.”
We hear you. Tonight’s show has been canceled at First Avenue and is moving to the Varsity Theatre. See our full statement for more. pic.twitter.com/tkf7rz0cc7
– First Avenue (@FirstAvenue) July 20, 2022
The performance was transferred to Minneapolis’ Varsity Theater.
Chappelle has received a lot of criticism over the past few years for recurring jokes aimed at the LGBTQ community, especially transgender people. His is controversial Netflix special, Closer, received two Emmy nominations.
Due to some of his pranks, the s0me staff at Netflix – where Chappelle had four specials – organized a walk last year. An employee, who co-led a resource group for transgender employees, was fired for allegedly leaking Netflix data.
“It was said in the press that I was invited to speak to Netflix’s transgender staff and I declined,” Chappelle replied. in a video on Instagram. “That’s not true – if they invited me, I would have accepted it, although I was confused as to what we were going to talk about. I said what I said, and boy, did I hear what you said. speak.”
Isaiah Lee, 23 years old, is accused of handling Chappelle on stage at Netflix is a Joke comedy festival in Los Angeles in May, though the motive has not been determined. Lee pledged not to commit four misdemeanors.