Dave Chappelle sets August NYC dates as opener for 2023 US comedy tour

NEW YORK — Dave Chappelle is hitting the road this fall, setting two New York City dates for the kickoff of his 2023 comedy tour.

The multi-city “Dave Chappelle Live” comedy jaunt will open at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 22 and Aug. 23. Produced by Live Nation, the tour goes on to include stops in Detroit, New Orleans and Nashville, Tennessee — concluding in early October at the United Center in Chicago.

Presale tickets went on sale Wednesday, while the general sale begins Thursday at 10 a.m. local time through Ticketmaster.

In recent years, the 49-year-old funnyman has become a lightning rod within the LGBTQ+ community for what many deem as anti-trans views.

Chappelle’s 2021 Netflix special, “The Closer,” sparked a social media firestorm and led to employee walkouts, firings and resignations at the streaming platform. The controversy even forced CEO Ted Sarandos to issue an “I screwed up” admission about how he handled the fallout.

Last July, a popular Minneapolis concert venue pulled the plug on a sold-out show — just hours before Chappelle was set to take the stage. The cancellation followed a public outcry against the booking, with many people expressing outrage at the venue for offering a platform to the “transphobe.”

And on May 3, 2022, a man attempted to attack Chappelle onstage during a historic show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. That man, identified as Isaiah Lee, was sentenced to 270 days in jail in December.

Meanwhile, Chappelle — a five-time Emmy and four-time Grammy Award winner, who was awarded the 2019 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — has remained unapologetic about his anti-trans material.