a performance by Dave Chappelle The venue for booking the comedians was canceled at the last minute after facing criticism online.
First Avenue in Minnesota announced the cancellation on Wednesday, hours before Chappelle’s show begins. The venue canceled Chappell’s show due to the ongoing controversy over the comedian’s jokes transgender People.
Chappelle’s show was moved to another nearby theatre, the Varsity Theatre.
“To the employees, the cast and our community, we hear you and we’re sorry,” First Avenue said in a statement shared on Twitter.
The First Avenue statement claimed the venue had to be “at the highest standards”.
“We are not just a black box with people, and we understand that First Avenue is not just a room, but is meaningful beyond our walls,” the statement said.
First Avenue wrote of Chappelle’s stand-up performance, “We believe in the freedom of diverse voices and artistic expression, but by respecting it, we have lost its impact.”
been in the chapel center of controversy Over the past year, after the comments she made about transgender people in her Netflix comedy special near.
“Gender is a fact. Every human being in this room, every human being on earth had to go through a woman’s feet to be on earth. It is a fact,” Chappelle said in the Netflix special.
He also called transgender people “confused” in another Netflix stand-up show, Poles and stones.
The Varsity Theatre, which is a 40-minute walk from First Avenue, hosted Chapel instead, honoring all tickets for the show sold.
Chappelle has not commented publicly about First Avenue’s cancellation of his show.
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