Famed Minneapolis concert venue First Avenue, where the late musical icon Prince (1999, Diamonds and Pearls) filmed many scenes for the Oscar-nominated film Purple Rain, canceled a sold-out comedy show by Dave Chappelle (Half-Baked, Undercover Brother) as reported by Stereogum. The downtown venue where Chappelle has appeared before, according to Deadline, received pressure for booking Chappelle over his alleged transphobic comments from his previous Netflix special, The Closer.
According to Stereogum, First Venue posted a message on Wednesday hours before Chappelle’s show was to begin citing, “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.” You can read the venue’s complete statement below.
Chappelle stirred controversy in his Netflix special, The Closer, for jokes aimed at the transgender community. The fallout saw protests from activists, advocates, and even several members of the LGBTQI+ community who worked for Netflix. Despite the pushback and eventual resignations, Netflix and CEO Ted Sarandos stood by Chappelle as many asked for the special to be pulled from the platform. Since then, the comedy special earned Chappelle and Netlfix an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).
According to Deadline, Chappelle’s most recent special What’s In A Name? quietly premiered on the streaming platform last month. Even in this latest performance, Chappelle references the backlash for his commentary as mere “talking points” and called his work in The Closer a “masterpiece.”
“The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it,” Chappelle stated via Deadline. “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.” The Chappelle’s Show creator delivered those remarks in a 40-minute speech in reference to a Washington D.C. high school deciding not to name its performing arts theatre after the comedian. Chappelle himself is an alumnus of the school and faced pushback from students over his comments during a recent visit.
In the wake of the announcement, Stereogum reports attendees were quickly notified that a different venue, Varsity Theatre, would host Chappelle. The actor and comedian has several shows set at Varisty this week.