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Dave Chappelle’s surprise appearance at the Duke Ellington School of Arts in D.C. has predictably left its 580 attendees separated.
The school recently pushed back Chappelle’s fundraiser to build a theatre in his name due to student backlash from transphobic comments he made in The Closer.
After locking audience members’ phones, a trademark of his concerts to ensure his jokes will not be taken out of context, Chappelle’s appearance was met with a response of cheers and boos.
The comedian in hot water conducted a Q&A at the high school he once attributed with saving his life with a camera crew reportedly on site to document the event. According to Politico who spoke to representatives from the school, student attendees and their parents, and Chappelle’s publicist, things went south from there.
About eight students were given the opportunity to ask questions. One called Chappelle a “bigot” and mentioned that as a 16-year-old, they thought he handled fallout from The Closer like a child. Chappelle responded, “My friend, with all due respect, I don’t believe you could make one of the decisions I have to make on a given day.”
Another response led him to pump his own tires, “I’m better than every instrumentalist, artist, no matter what art you do in this school, right now, I’m better than all of you. I’m sure that will change. I’m sure you’ll be household names soon.”
To the disappointment of some students, he had no intention to apologize. Chappelle’s publicist explained that he believes the students at Duke Ellington deserve forgiveness and “some space to grow” as “they are going to say things that are immature.”
Some parents have expressed disapproval of Chappelle’s characteristic use of “nigga,” calling school grounds an inappropriate environment for the term. The quote in question revolves Chappelle’s response when a student shouted, “Your comedy kills,” to which Chappelle rebutted, “Niggas are killed every day.” It is unclear if the student meant this in a positive way.
One student noted the event’s “huge power imbalance” between a superstar entertainer and his camera crew and 580 teenagers without the security of their phone cameras. Some students were afraid to ask questions since Chappelle often laughed or lampooned questions. After one attendee exited the forum mid-performance, Chappelle used the old comic trick of pointing her out, “Of course she left early.” Other students told the principal that they were disappointed they were not able to voice their support. One mentioned, “If [only] he [had] acted that way the whole time. … There was no reason to be mean to us. He was just laughing at kids.”
Chappelle apparently altered his demeanour as the show reached its end referring to the student body as his family and voiced his wishes that threats against those who are rallying against him and threatening walkouts to stop. After death threats were made to students at Duke Ellington, the school has increased security and outlawed off-campus excursions during lunch hour. Chappelle ended the night by giving out three tickets to each student for the screening of his film and 600 Thanksgiving meals for students and staff.
Check out our report on Dave Chappelle’s screening in Toronto.
Dave Chappelle’s surprise appearance at the Duke Ellington School of Arts in D.C. has predictably left its 580 attendees separated.
The school recently pushed back Chappelle’s fundraiser to build a theatre in his name due to student backlash from transphobic comments he made in The Closer.
After locking audience members’ phones, a trademark of his concerts to ensure his jokes will not be taken out of context, Chappelle’s appearance was met with a response of cheers and boos.
The comedian in hot water conducted a Q&A at the high school he once attributed with saving his life with a camera crew reportedly on site to document the event. According to Politico who spoke to representatives from the school, student attendees and their parents, and Chappelle’s publicist, things went south from there.
About eight students were given the opportunity to ask questions. One called Chappelle a “bigot” and mentioned that as a 16-year-old, they thought he handled fallout from The Closer like a child. Chappelle responded, “My friend, with all due respect, I don’t believe you could make one of the decisions I have to make on a given day.”
Another response led him to pump his own tires, “I’m better than every instrumentalist, artist, no matter what art you do in this school, right now, I’m better than all of you. I’m sure that will change. I’m sure you’ll be household names soon.”
To the disappointment of some students, he had no intention to apologize. Chappelle’s publicist explained that he believes the students at Duke Ellington deserve forgiveness and “some space to grow” as “they are going to say things that are immature.”
Some parents have expressed disapproval of Chappelle’s characteristic use of “nigga,” calling school grounds an inappropriate environment for the term. The quote in question revolves Chappelle’s response when a student shouted, “Your comedy kills,” to which Chappelle rebutted, “Niggas are killed every day.” It is unclear if the student meant this in a positive way.
One student noted the event’s “huge power imbalance” between a superstar entertainer and his camera crew and 580 teenagers without the security of their phone cameras. Some students were afraid to ask questions since Chappelle often laughed or lampooned questions. After one attendee exited the forum mid-performance, Chappelle used the old comic trick of pointing her out, “Of course she left early.” Other students told the principal that they were disappointed they were not able to voice their support. One mentioned, “If [only] he [had] acted that way the whole time. … There was no reason to be mean to us. He was just laughing at kids.”
Chappelle apparently altered his demeanour as the show reached its end referring to the student body as his family and voiced his wishes that threats against those who are rallying against him and threatening walkouts to stop. After death threats were made to students at Duke Ellington, the school has increased security and outlawed off-campus excursions during lunch hour. Chappelle ended the night by giving out three tickets to each student for the screening of his film and 600 Thanksgiving meals for students and staff.
Check out our report on Dave Chappelle’s screening in Toronto.
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