Sold-out Dave Chappelle show cancelled by Minneapolis’ First Avenue after backlash: ‘We hear you’

A prestigious performance venue in Minneapolis cancelled a sold-out Dave Chappelle show hours before it was scheduled, citing backlash over Chappelle’s allegedly transphobic jokes.

Tickets for the 48-year-old comedian’s show at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Wednesday (20 July) went live on Monday (18 July) and all 1,550 tickets were sold within minutes, according to media reports.

However, hours before Chappelle was scheduled to take the stage at First Avenue, organisers said on Instagram that the show was going to be cancelled over backlash from “staff, artists, and our community”.

Announcing that the show had been moved to Varsity Theater, First Avenue’s full statement read: “To staff, artists and our community, we hear you and we are sorry.

“We know we must hold ourselves to the highest standards, and we know we let you down. We are not just a black box with people in it, and we understand that First Ave is not just a room, but meaningful beyond our walls.”

A Change.org petition asking First Avenue not to let Chappelle perform on Wednesday was created shortly after his show was announced.

Writing that First Avenue will continue with its mission of making its venues “the safest spaces in the country”, the organisation added: “We believe in diverse voices and the freedom of artistic expression, but in honouring that, we lost sight of the impact [the show] would have.

“We know there are some who will not agree with this decision; you are welcome to send feedback,” the statement finished.

Multiple social media users criticised First Avenue’s decision to cancel a pre-planned show at the last moment. Some argued that censoring Chappelle was directly at odds with their mission to uphold “freedom of artistic expression”.

“Doesn’t sound like you believe in diverse voices at all,” one person commented under the post, with another writing: “Prince would be p***ed.”

First Avenue was prominently featured in Prince’s 1984 film Purple Rain, and the iconic musician performed at the Minneapolis venue multiple times over his career.

Following the release of Chappelle’s Netflix special The Closer in October last year, the comedian was criticised for a number of allegedly transphobic comments he made during the show, including that he was “team Terf” (trans-exclusionary radical feminist), and that the LGBTQ+ community was attempting to destroy the lives of celebrities such as JK Rowling by “cancelling” them.

However, the Television Academy deemed the special worthy of an Emmy nomination earlier this month, recognising The Closer in the Outstanding Variety Special category.