Comedian Dave Chapelle’s scheduled appearance at Minneapolis’ First Avenue venue, on Wednesday, will no longer go as planned since the club has dropped it, with the team apologizing after facing backlash for booking the 48-year-old.
Hours before the show, First Avenue posted its statement on Instagram. It references the venue being criticized for booking Chapelle, who’s facing backlash for his comments which were perceived to be hurtful to the transgender community, during his Netflix standup, ‘The Closer‘.
The club’s statement read, “The Dave Chappelle show tonight at First Avenue has been cancelled and is moving to the Varsity Theater”, adding, “To staff, artists and our community, we hear you and we are sorry. We know we must hold ourselves to the highest standards, and we know we let you down. We are not just a black box with people in it, and we understand that First Ave is not just a room, but meaningful beyond our walls.”
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It continued, “The First Avenue team and you have worked hard to make our venues the safest spaces in the country, and we will continue with that mission. We believe in diverse voices and the freedom of artistic expression, but in honouring that, we lost sight of the impact this would have.”
Varsity Theater, in a Twitter statement, confirmed the news.
They said, “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 honoured. Doors open at 8 PM and we highly recommend arriving early”, adding, “This event will be a phone-free experience.”
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Chapelle has remained unapologetic about his Netflix special, addressing the controversy surrounding it, in a subsequent video, saying that he would not bend to anybody’s demands, and was willing to hear out the transgender community if they had seen his special from start to finish and if they admitted Hannah Gadsby isn’t funny.
