Dave Chappelle returned “jubilantly” to the stage Thursday night after being being canceled at the last minute at the First Avenue club in Minneapolis.
That’s according to the Daily Mail, which was on hand at the event held at the nearby Varsity Theater, with the British tabloid reporting that Chappelle made a crack about the woke protesters trying to cancel him.
“I’d respect them more if there was at least one black person!” the comedian said.
Jokes about cancel culture and his struggles accepting the bizarre use of pronouns by the left were featured in the sold out show, with Chappelle saying he found it confusing “when the reproductive system is made out of words and semantics.”
“Comedy is just comedy,” Chappelle said, according to the Daily Mail, which noted that the comedian told the audience that 50 years ago to the day, George Carlin was arrested at Summerfest for performing his “seven words you can’t say on television” routine.
He was also determined to advise a teen boy in the audience who wanted to become a comedian to stay away from trans jokes.
Interestingly, the Varsity Club advertised the show as a “phone-free experience.”
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
A number of attendees spoke with the Daily Mail, including 60-year-old Chris Ryan.
“I think he’s a thoughtful and intelligent person,” Ryan said. “And I think he speaks without fear.”
“Cancel culture has taken too big a position in our society,” he said, adding: “I think that if we’re not going to be divided, if we are going to be unified, we should be able to say what we want when we want, especially if it’s not mean spirited, and I don’t believe this work is mean spirited.”
Logan Kramer, 24, said the show was “electric,” and did not see Chappelle’s performance as offensive.
“It’s just comedy,” Kramer said. “I see a sign back here. It says, ‘F*** these Nazis.’ I mean, I don’t really remember reading the history books or seeing videos of Hitler telling jokes. I don’t think that’s very transferable.”
“They are there as comedians, they are making jokes,” said Michaela Kramer, 23, who was with Kramer. “It’s not personal jabs at anybody.”
As for the protesters outside the show, she said, “It’s weird coming out of a show where you just had a lot of fun laughing and having people scream at you.”
Caution: Adult Language
Fuck the Varsity Theater.
Fuck Dave Chappelle.
Fuck the police. pic.twitter.com/P9UeJuR92D— Elon Musk is an Insecure Fascist (@NiklasNorman1) July 22, 2022
Chappelle graduated from the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., and his new Netflix comedy special, “What’s in a Name,” focuses on a speech he gave at his alma mater in November after he declined an offer from the school to rename a theater after him following his transphobic joke controversy.
The reaction from students at the school included those who thought he should apologize for insensitive remarks he made about the trans community.
“When I heard those talking points coming out of these children’s faces, that really, sincerely, hurt me,” Chappelle said, according to Fox News. “Because I know those kids didn’t come up with those words. I’ve heard those words before. The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it.”
“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. That is valuable to me. That is not severed from me. It’s worth protecting for me, and it’s worth protecting for everyone else who endeavors in our noble, noble professions,” he added. “And these kids didn’t understand that they were instruments of oppression. And I didn’t get mad at them. They’re kids. They’re freshmen. They’re not ready yet. They don’t know.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.