Comic Dave Chappelle has determined to not enable his former highschool’s theatre venue to bear his identify.
On Monday, Chappelle, 48, advised an viewers at a dedication ceremony for the Duke Ellington College of the Arts in Washington that he now not needs to be the theatre’s namesake, the Washington Put up reported.
The standup comic stated his resolution needed to do with ongoing criticism and backlash from his 2021 Netflix particular The Nearer. Since its launch, many have expressed upset over Chappelle’s anti-transgender feedback.
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In keeping with the Washington Put up, Chappelle stated although he believes the backlash from the comedy particular “lacked nuance and wasn’t about his work,” he didn’t need his identify to distract college students at the highschool from specializing in artwork.
The theatre’s dedication to Chappelle had already been postponed as soon as in November, one month after the discharge of The Nearer.
College students at Duke Ellington highschool raised considerations in regards to the alternative to call the venue after the comic. The varsity’s principal and a number of other college students (together with representatives from Duke Ellington’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance) held quite a few conferences to debate Chappelle’s comedy particular and anti-transgender feedback.
The theatre will as a substitute be named the Theater for Creative Freedom and Expression.
The Washington Put up reported that Chappelle advised the viewers on Monday he was “sincerely” damage by the criticism surrounding his newest comedy particular.
“However the Ellington household is my household,” he stated on the ceremony.
Final October the comic stated the provide to call the theatre after him was “probably the most vital honour of my life.”
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“I used to skip college. I’d conceal in there after I was skipping class,” Chappelle stated final yr. “Who would have thought that that theater would at some point be named after me?”
He pledged to donate US$100,000 to the Duke Ellington College of the Arts theatre.
In keeping with Selection, Chappelle stays one of many college’s most prolific supporters and has donated hundreds of thousands to the group.
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