Comedian Dave Chappelle reportedly pulled no punches at his Minneapolis show this past week where he blasted his critics as “transgender lunatics” and called monkeypox a gay disease.
Last Wednesday, the famed First Avenue concert venue in Minneapolis abruptly canceled Dave Chappelle’s show just hours before it opened due to woke outcry, forcing him to set up shop just three miles away at the Varsity Theater.
According to a review from the Star Tribune, Chappelle’s show offered a few surprising turns while not shying away from his usual brand of boundary-pushing humor. One moment that particularly caught the ire of LGBTQ activists was when he addressed the 50 protesters who had picketed outside First Avenue prior to the venue canceling his show. Per the Tribune:
Chappelle spent much of his time talking about the anger he’s stirred up in the past year. He went into detail about an incident in May when a man tackled him on the Hollywood Bowl stage, later saying that he was triggered by the comic’s material about transgender people and the homeless.
He also ridiculed protesters who had spent a few hours outside the Varsity before the show, swearing through bullhorns and picking fights with fans. Chappelle referred to them as a small group of transgender lunatics and joked that they were probably hired by his wife, determined to suck the joy out of his life. He also shrugged off the idea that they posed any real threat.
Chappelle reportedly said that he “can see a transgender hit squad coming from a mile away” as he performed his signature slap of the microphone against his thigh.
However, Chappelle’s most racy moment perhaps came when he referred to the monkeypox epidemic as a “gay disease.” A recent study showed that monkeypox has been burgeoning among men who have sex with other men.
Dave Chappelle recently declined to have a performing arts theater at his former high school bear his name following woke student backlash over The Closer. During a recent dedication ceremony, Chappelle announced that the theater’s name will instead be called the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression.
“When I heard those talking points coming out of these children’s faces, that really, sincerely, hurt me,” Chappelle said. “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,” he continued. “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.”
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